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 enlarge | Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Actors: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $14.00
You Save: $15.95 (53%)
New (50) Used (20) from $9.99
Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 917
Format: Ac-3, Black & White, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: French (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 96
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.7
MPN: COLD22525D
UPC: 043396225251
EAN: 0043396225251
ASIN: B000YAA68W
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 2007
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Significant October 11, 2008
plot: Marjane Satrapi grows up during the rise of the fundamentalist regime in Iran.
animation: Lovely deco art style, it reminded me of Edward Gorey in some ways, and propaganda posters in other ways.
languages: french and english.
This film has a wonderful sense of reverence for family history, and at the same time a wonderful sense of irreverence for the local political ideologies which grip Iranian culture today. If you don't know what happened to women's rights when the Fundamentalist's rose to power in Iran, this film explains these things with simple, tough charm. It's important that this film even exists, imo. I think everyone should see it, whether they like it or not- it will give you alot to think about and hopefully, talk about.
*spoiler*
If I have one problem with this film, it's that as the main character grows older and more disenchanted (while trying even harder to fit in) with the intolerance towards women in her society, the story turns to several pointless romances. After an hour and a half of feeling like a witness (thru Marjane's recollections) to an avalanche of personal tragedy and the humor that comes with surviving it, we jarringly go into a weird romantic interlude, where Marjane has a string of crappy relationships, gets married, gets divorced, leaves Iran yet again (and presumably for good) at which point the film ends.
Kindof like someone pulling the needle across the vinyl before a good song ends, and I understand she's making a political statement about how she feels; that there's nothing she has left but the memories of her family, uncle and grandmother... its just that the romantic interlude cheapened the power of it.
For this viewer.
Still a damn important cultural document, though. See it.
Animating the battlefield against evil September 28, 2008
Iran is still to these days in the focus of world wide attention. After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appearance in Clumbia University last year, it seems that nothing has been changed since the Islamic revolution that took place in 1978. Iran is a fundamentalist country oppressing freedom of speech not to mention the thousands who were brutally emprisoned and executed since the fled of the Shah. Persepolis - the name of the ancient capital of Persia during the Achaemenid Empire in 550-330 BC.
Alluding to ancient Persia is of no coincidence; it meant to bring to the open the tragedy of the people of Iran whose freedom is constantly denied by treaturous leaders. The comic book, or to be exact - the graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi focuses on her expirience as a child grown up in between two eras - the Shah and Komeini, and the means the new regime took to indoctrinate its fundemental islamic ideology. The film is based on Satrapi's book, carefully adheres to its style by using straightforward simple images mostly in black and white telling the story of Satrapi's life in Iran as a child and in Vienna after she fled from her country. Being an animated film, it is not an entertaining film suitable for children. It is a poignant film which takes us through the harsh times Satrapi and her family went through the dark days of 1978 telling the story of the Iranian nation at large.
Ben Baruch Blich, ph.d.
History and Theory dept.
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Jerusalem
 What went wrong! September 14, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
With all do respect regarding all the work that went into making this wonderful film, I have one major critique. Since when do Iranians speak French? and why are they speaking French?
The French language is simply distracting, especially in the first half of the film. I constantly had to remind my self that this story is based in Iran and not in France, and only when I would hear an Iranian name!
There are many wonderful animations made in various languages and they seem to work majority of the time except for this particular story line, and for many reasons.
The animation is minimal/monochromatic, and cultural references are kept to a minimum even though the cultural identity of the film, and the cultural identity of the main character are very much the center pieces of the story. More importantly the writing is based on historical political events, and not just a simple satire.
As a result, looking at characters dressed in modern western clothes, calling out Iranian names in French accents makes one think that the characters are based in a home in Paris during the turmoils of Iranian revolution. With everyone in black and white, and a story based on such a major historical event just deserves some damn authenticity, and not characters who can barely pronounce their own names correctly.
I have one suggestion to the French speaking creators of Persepolis,lets make an animation film about the French revolution in Arabic only!! lets see how distracting that will be, or even better in Algerian..
Spellbinding! September 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The DVD was every bit as good as the book. Like most Americans who were well tuned into the Iranian hostage crisis, I had an extremly dim view of that country. Now, I understand that there is far more to Iran, that there are actually many decent people there.
Striking style, simplistic content... September 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had read several reviews of this film before I saw it, and had come to expect something both cutting edge and offering a unique insight into the Iranian situation.
Instead I found a rather flat-footed retelling of the Iranian revolution where the height of the insight was that 'evil' regimes oppress women and don't let people have parties.
Nothing in this film tells us anything we don't already know, and instead of getting a sense that the Ayatollah genuinely infringed civil liberties or repressed free speech, he came across as a nasty party pooper who won't let our heroine have a social life.
She comes across just a tiny bit brattish rather than a genuine rebel and her outspokenness appears to be limited to one speech in a lecture theatre and some faux rebellions.
Although the animation is striking, it still doesn't feel very original, and the whole thing comes across like a graphic novel (which I believe it is), but more in the sense that it's a story simplified for 13 year-olds and is more concerned with making sure it doesn't alienate them than actually provoking thought or educating them.
Maybe I expected too much of, but it was just so-what for me. Disappointing.
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