|
)Persepolis had a limited theatrical release around Christmas time last year. Before that, it was apparently making waves at film festivals all over the world after winning a Jury Prize at Cannes. It was likely difficult for most people to catch its limited release, so I’ve included a short trailer with this post to hopefully give you all a flavor of the movie.
Truth is, I probably would never have thought twice about this movie if it weren’t for the fact that many are saying that it could upset Ratatouille and take home Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards this year. Given my unabashed love for food, cooking, and all things Pixar, these statements were heresy to me and I just had to go and see what the buzz was about.
After seeing Persepolis, I realize that the accolades are not misplaced. And, if it does win an Oscar, I won’t be quite so disappointed. Ratatouille, like my beloved New England Patriots, is just running into a hot team at the wrong time.
Persepolis is an animated film based on the autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. It follows the growing up and coming of age of a young Marjane during the Iranian Revolution. Her family - parents, grand parents, uncles - comes from an educated bourgeoisie background and hopes for democracy after the Shah’s dictatorship. Unfortunately, their hopes and dreams are dashed as Iran falls under fundamentalist rule. Marjane, an independent and strong willed girl, grows up fighting the system and eventually having to run from it.
So, is this film really better than Ratatouille? I guess it depends on how you define “better.” Ratatouille is entertaining, light, and heart warming. It’s a cute story and represents cutting edge computer animation. Persepolis, on the other hand, is darker and tells a more significant story. It’s poignant and engaging. It’s traditional animation with hand drawn scenes that are nothing short of art. There’s a balance of light and dark imagery, color and grey scale, and static and fully animated objects that plays perfectly throughout. The movie is truly beautiful and I never thought I’d say that of Babar the Elephant style cartoons.
Persepolis is a terrific film and is a real achievement in story telling within its medium. It’s almost inappropriate for me to try to sit here and compare it to Ratatouille as they are so drastically different, but therein lies the problem with having just one award for the two. But, back to the point of this review, Persepolis is a fantastic film and really a must watch. But, keep in mind that it wasn’t meant so much just for good-natured entertainment, but more to tell a meaningful story.
5 head wraps out of 5
Leave a Reply