God, this film was funny.

Visually beautiful, especially with the use of the white and black, 'Persepolis' achieves what many animated films lately have lacked: to give us some actual knowledge about something happening in the world. As beautiful as 'Up' and 'Toy Story 3' may be, they do not teach us about the world things we haven't known before. 'Persepolis' gives us a tangible example of the diversity of cultures, ways of thinking and acting and how someone may be found to be living in the wrong place. I do not believe that this is an anti-Iranian film, after all, one of the "takeaway points" of the film is to be proud of who you are - which the director/author clearly is, and she makes it a point of pride. However, politics in Iran are definitely under attack here - but why not? Just because it is an animated film does not mean it cannot contain messages: clearly, what was happening in Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution was not right, irrelevant of whether one believes it is 'anti-Iranian' to think that way or not. And, I think, most importantly, it shows to world-audiences (and especially US audiences) that Iran has also people who are like themselves, just that one cannot express it openly, and that Iran used to be quite a "normal" place before the revolution - not unlike Europe or anywhere else in the 'developed' world. Definitely, it is a highly recommendable film for its artistry and its heart-wrenching story.… Expand

This is an extremely sophisticated and subtle adult movie for all its black-and-white drawing. I think Anthonly Lane of the New Yorker is totally muddled and confuses aesthetic choices and ethical perspectives (but then he is writing for the New Yorker, where ethics is perceived as but one style choice that might fit nicely between ads for luxury goods -- his dismissive tone is so pompous).

I came away with a lump in my throat, and some in the audience were sniffling audibly. This film is amazing. I'm honestly quite bewildered at the cool tone of some of the critics (and agree Lane is way off base for once). The combination of artistic and emotional artistry was quite something. Especially good to watch this narrative of coming into political consciousness at this politicized moment in the U.S.… Expand

An amazing animated memoir showing what it's like growing up in tumultuous Iran. Some of the best 2-D animation I've seen since Disney was alive.

This movie is a must-see. It is superb entertainment as well as a realistic, mini-history lesson.

I don't know what the rest of you are smoking. This movie was about crappy people, living in crappy places, doing crappy things to each other. This movie doesn't tell us anything new about Iran or how it persecutes and stifles women. Gosh women have it rough in Iran...no duh. It adds no insight to their plight, nor does it raise any new awareness. I thought the main character was a bad person, nothing to do with where she is from, or what religion she was, but just a crappy person as a whole. The true persecution in the film was acted out on the audience while watching this junk.… Expand

Great movie, lots to learn from this story.

I watched this movie in Jakarta Film Festival,it was the opening movie and I could tell this has been a great opening for a movie fest. A more up-lifting mood of slightly noir humour, suavely told by honest storytelling way.

WOW really nice! Its a brilliant hour, but felt a bit thin as a hour an a half. While I was glad it wasn't all tied up into a neat little ending with a moral or some 'lesson' it did end leaving one with a feeling of... ie. it just kinda trailed off. That and it felt like a memoir of a 27 year-old.

Seemed pretty boring to me. An easy history lesson, which is always good! I'm sure it was the best choice at the cineplex tonight.

If 2-D animation is dead, then "Persepolis" is a dead man's party. While "Shrek" gorges himself on Bambi and all his forest critter friends, filmmakers like Satoshi Kon("Paprika", "Tokyo Godfathers") and Sylvain Chomet("Les Triplettes de Belleville") continue to work in the cel tradition. "Persepolis", however, could be said to have precious little, if any, of "Steamboat Willie[';s]" DNA. Like Jessica Yu's "In the Realms of the Unreal"(the 2004 documentary about outsider artist Henry Darger), "Persepolis" takes static imagery(in this case; the illustrations from a graphic novel, in the Yu film; Darger's paintings) and transforms them into a meditation on kinesics. The results are truly startling; Iran and France rendered in a phantasmagorical world of black and white. The intermittent use of color is used to differentiate the past from the present, but it's also a commentary on how Marjane's life in her homeland and adopted home covered the full breadth of experiences in both geographical instances. Don't readily assume that Marjane's life in Iran was all bad, and her move to France was all good; only our president sees things in terms of black and white. Our president, our country, in which "Persepolis" sneakily characterizes as being the devil, and the devil's lair. Marjane(voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) listens to Iron Maiden, a band from Sheffield, England that purportedly worships the devil(well, they did release an album entitled "The Number of the Beast"). In other words, Great Britian is in cahoots with the United States, or, "the devil", as we are known to our international neighbors.… Expand

I think it's a bit over-rated. The story and pacing are uneven, and the plot just peters out at the end. I would've liked more on living in Iran and less about how the character felt alienated from the world. Seriously, what makes you so special?

The main issue with Persepolis is that it shows how things used to be in Iran, and then it shows how much it changed. The artwork is simplistic, but it's still damn good.

Over-rated!!! This is a slow movie with too much history lesson. The trailer was lots of fun, the actual movie must have dragged on nearly 2 hours. In that 2 hours, we got fun and pensive stuff about 30%-40% of the time. Slow, slow slow. Think of it as a French movie, then your expectations won't get in your way. Wow, once more, I say it is OVER-rated by the critics...

'Persepolis', a wonderfully visualized gem, manages a multitude of on-screen miracles, though its most accomplished feat is interfusing frivolous humor with a remarkably distressing, yet equally inspirational coming-of-age story. Based on director Marjane Satrapi’s own graphic novel, Persepolis bulges out of the screen with style and wit that scream with originality and heart, making it an epochal work, in addition to being an immensely enjoyable, creatively unparalleled one. An autobiographical account of Satrapi’s life leading up to her early-twenties, this film depicts the dawdling growth of its protagonist, her family, and their Central Eurasian country of Iran during the time of the Islamic Revolution, whereupon women were forced to wear veils to cover their heads and countless citizens were taken captive for no lesser reason than to force upon their country oppression. Marjane is a rowdy 9-year-old Iranian girl, whose parents’ desire for political change is shared by Marjane’s uncle, Anouche, a Communist leader against the dictatorship of Iran’s monarch, the Shah, whose rule would cease in 1979 and later be replaced by a republic. After being freed from prison in the early ‘70s, Anouche visits Marjane’s parents and later obliges Marjane’s eager wish to hear all about his political activism; and he tells her of the proletariat for which he fought and a period in which he fled Iran for Moscow, where he studied for self-betterment. Yet, sooner than later, Islamic fundamentalists arrest him and sentence him to death. Devastated by the news, Marjane’s only source of solace comes when Anouche chooses her to appear as the single prison visitor he is granted before his execution. Over the years, that minimal feeling of comfort outlines everything in her life, leading her into a rebellious rage that amounts to her public insubordination of the Islamic regime’s laws—she frequently takes off her veil or replaces it with a headscarf; she wears Adidas rather than that which is allowed; and she sports a leather jacket with “Punk Is Not Ded” embroidered on the back. In addition to her outlandish individual behavior, Marjane develops an ear for “insurgent” music from bands such as The Bee Gees and, eventually, Iron Maiden (which wonderfully caps a truly memorable set of scenes). When the danger of the Iran/Iraq war reaches alarming heights, Marjane is sent to Vienna from Tehran, where she had been schooling. As a teenage Iranian girl in Austria, she becomes the target for much racial intolerance, which slowly chips away at the slight comfort she felt when she last saw her uncle, Anouche. Feeling rejected by her peers, her government, and even her parents, Marjane stoops to lower grounds, as she builds friendships with a rough crowd that spends its nights at underground metal concerts and advocates anomalous, if not completely absent, social values. She quickly realizes that her place is not with the crowd that she’d been a part of, and returns to Iran to start over with the support of her family right next to her. She builds and strengthens her relationship with her parents and, more noticeably, her grandmother, a sweet, chipper, free spirit whom Marjane looks to for direction and tranquility. Despite having suffered a few disastrous love relationships, Marjane, now out of her teenage years, falls in love with a man whom she marries quickly. As that marriage snowballs into staleness (as would only be appropriate for the film’s continuity), it is again her grandmother who is there above all else, advising her to make a mature decision regarding the outcome of her and her husband’s marriage as an independent woman with integrity. She does; and, as long as it took, Marjane finds herself and finds happiness, ironically through a string of tragic events that culminate with the death of her grandmother and a plane trip to France. With the help of co-director Vincent Paronnaud, also a graphic novelist, Satrapi manages to make this painstaking story of hope lost and hope found one that gleams with symmetry and visual sublimity; and she does so using mostly shades of black and white. (Taking lessons from the school of Steven Spielberg, Satrapi and Paronnaud also use the color red, though do so limitedly and, like Spielberg, to astounding effect.) Moreover, the film’s narrative is both educational and enthusiastically delivered (Chiara Mastroianni brilliantly voices Marjane as a teenager and young adult), often concealing the gravity of the film’s sequential grimness, which, as a result, never feels as severe as it should. As a moviegoer, 'Persepolis' created within me a crushing feeling of ecstasy; it couldn’t have possibly been more perfect of a watch. In fact, 'Persepolis' is not just a film fit to stand the test of time, rather it’s one best suited to stand against time with the same thunderous defiance as its bright, spirited main character. This debut from both Paronnaud and Satrapi is anything but something to be taken lightly; it sings to the impossible pitch of true life transformed into the very truest art form, laced with inspiration beyond that of most films—or works of art—that one may ever have the thrilling opportunity to witness for oneself. 'Persepolis' is really one-of-a-kind; and as a recognized motion picture, that’s a crowning accomplishment.… Expand

Excellent movie containing the best plot, best animation, best content, and worth to see.

Persepolis is so full of ideas. It might not be groundbreaking in animation but there was a lot of creativity put into this. Of course, you can't help but get tied into the struggle of Marjame because we are shown such a realistic character. Marjame's interpretation of the world around her is put to the forefront instead of the political struggles in Iran. I would agree that it felt a bit like a series of diary entries but thankfully introspection is kept to a minimum and we are allowed to simply witness the events in her life more. It was a good mix between being on the outside looking in at Marjame's struggles and being on the inside looking out. The moral here is that no one when presented obstacles in life is perfect and there is nothing you can do to make things better. It may have been a typical coming of age story in some aspects but it was also this realization that no matter what, you can never truly identify with a world that can't really identify you. More likely, you will have to fabricate your own identity like Marjane had to. This is not one to miss. It couldn't have been better presented.… Expand

She is soooooo annoying.

This film is worthy of a 10 out of 10 score. The only reason I am giving it 8 out of 10 is because it was dubbed in English and the American voices were distracting, grating and not fitting with the mainly Iranian characters. NY Times critic A.O. Scott said it best: "Sony Pictures Classics, which is releasing “Persepolis” in the United States, could easily have dubbed it into English, a change that might have broadened the film’s appeal for a subtitle-phobic American audience. But then we would have missed the music of those incomparable movie star voices, and also a delightful parallel between cast and characters." And unfortunately I never got to hear those lyrical voices in the UK version (where I've seen the film). Shame on Sony Pictures Classics or whoever is responsible for Americanizing the film.… Expand

An aggravating story about an Iranian narcissist and drama queen. The animation is NOT that great but looks cheap, like old cold-war kiddie Soviet propaganda-NO JOKE. Politically correct pap that amazed me by being even worse than the source material. If you think that society should be run by socialist sociology professors, you'll like this movie. The people are a bunch of lower middle class twits, who seem to know nothing of reality. Their values could be purchased at any Wal-Mart, the Marxist ones as well. Ugh.… Expand

Although it is a moving and fascinating film, I am not quite sure what all the fuss is about. It does have a nice balance of of drama and comedy. The animation is effective but way too simple. It doesn't need to be Pixar, but it's not far from being stick figures. Well defined characters. It would have made an excellent non-animated film.

Everyone should see this film.

Amazing animation and moving story. An essential movie, best in a while. See it immediately.

Great adaptation--I really enjoyed the art and keeping those same tones in the film was an exceptional move considering the technology or temptation to do live-action. the books (and by the same meaning, the film) are definitely navel-gazing--but it is an interesting naval--so it works for what it is. (and I love the grandmother to bits).

Very good for the sexual content.

I liked the animation; I found it charming. I found it hard to sympathize with the protagonist. She's quite irritating and shallow in my opinion, and though at times her story is dramatic and tragic, it's the events themselves that are fascinating, not her interpretation/experience of them. I also saw this dubbed in English and I don't recommend it. The voice acting is kind of flat, even though some reputable actors were involved. A film that could have been fantastic. It just didn't come through for me.… Expand

Yeah yippee, wave the flag of freedom because we love democracy so much, it’s all just so great. I don't even need to see this film to read straight through the anti-Arabic anti-Iranian anti-Islamic propaganda. How timely, just as the yanks, the Brits, and the French (including a mossad agent Nicolas Sarkozy for a president), are debating when to invade Iran in face of negative public opinion. Get real people, and start thinking for yourselves.… Expand

This movie is about human dignity and family. At last we have a movie that critiques Islamic fundamentalism and does not shy away from criticizing an abhorrent Western nihilism and Capitalistic consumerism. Pope John Paul II is finally heard on the big screen.

Incredible! The words Marjane says in the last scene moved my heart and brought tears to our eyes. A definite 10/10. All Must Watch!

This film captivated me from start to finish with its simple yet striking animation that manages to convey the horrific and the emotional so beautifully.

If this were intended to be an overview of anti-Middle Eastern sentiment aimed at a 10 to 12-year old audience, I'd say it did a great job.

A wonderful film with dark sardonic humor, poetic animation dwelling into human relationships. LOVED IT.

The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name, and is autobiographical. After an amusing history of Iran told through puppet-show antics, the film stops being about Iran and starts being about the humanity of Marjane's situation. Sure, it takes a while to get there and there really isn't a good way to separate the narrative from the polemics of the characters, but in the end there's no political didacticism, just a woman and her memories. It is the image of grown up Marjane that we must hold with us in order to recognize the beauty of this film.… Expand

What seemed captivating and fresh in the first 40 minutes gradually wore out its welcome. After a while, we feel less sympathetic with the rather self-absorbed main character. The animation is very nice, and perhaps a new and interesting way to tell an elaborate and long historical story without having to go to the trouble and expense to re-enact it all. The graphic style is very evocative of the psychological and cultural territiory in ways that modern 3D computer animation could not. Sadly, the material becomes quite split after awhile, partly personal issues of a pretty mixed up young girl, partly epic family tragedy in a warring country. They don't mix particularly well, and after a while I began to wonder why one or the other was not more emphasized, and why would I want to watch both at the same time? Oddly, the animation seemed more interesting and fitting to the war and historic segments, and a decent young women's movie could've been made in a conventional method. I would want to see the historical movie, and would've skipped the other.… Expand

Animated film about an Iranian girl coming of age in Tehran then moving to Vienna & the struggles she has. Really good story which is funny, moving & dark in parts with Iran's political & war-torn history. The beautiful hand-drawn animation adds to the whole charm of the film & is very well done. The ending came a bit sudden than I expected & left a few unanswered questions but overall I did enjoy it.… Expand