BiblioAddict

On Persepolis, wearing pink shoes with your burka, loving hard rock, and the many shades of gray:

Yesterday Barry Gewen over at Paper Cuts recommended that the millions of people who hadn’t seen Persepolis yet should watch it now that it’s out on DVD. Persepolis, for those of you who don’t know (and if you’re not all that interested in graphic novels/memoirs then I’ll grant that somehow, some way you don’t), is an animated movie based on the graphic memoir written by Marjane Satrapi. I have yet to read the book (and I really, really should), but Gewen reminded me that I in fact had the Blockbuster DVD currently sitting on my television. What is it with me and stuff I always have laying around? My apartment is full of unfulfilled intentions it seems. Oy, don’t get me started.

In any case, since the DVD was due back two days ago (no late fees is a wonderful thing) and since Gewen so nicely ordered me to, I sat down with my dinner and got to business. What can I say – it was…awesome, amazing, brilliant, tragic, funny, and touching. I am now convinced that this movie deserved a whole lot more attention than it got. And, hey I liked Ratatouille, but like Gewen, though I know that it had absolutely no chance really, Persepolis should have won that Academy.

Unlike Ratatouille, this movie isn’t even remotely for kids. Persepolis is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, the Islamic fundamentalists’ rise to power, and the Iraq-Iranian War. The political assassinations, the bombings, and the tragedy isn’t your regular kiddie fare. But I’ll be darned if it wasn’t funny. The dialogue is witty and Satrapi, as a rebellious Iranian teenager who listens to hard rock, wears pink tennis shoes with her burka, and a Michael Jackson pin on her bag is immensely fun to watch and incredibly easy to relate to.

When I wasn’t being impressed with the dialogue and the progression of the story, I was being blown away just how good an animated movie can look in black and white. At first I was a bit worried that the black and white would make the film at least look dull. As the movie progressed, however, I went from not being bothered by it to actively liking it. Never again shall I underestimate just how many shades of gray lie between black and white, and never again shall I underestimate their power to impress not just on the page but the silver screen.

I loved Persepolis. It is definitely becoming a part of my permanent DVD collection. And just as soon as my personal ban on book shopping is over, I’ll be adding the memoir to my library as well.