Persepolis

Talking of manga (which for those reading downwards from the latest post nobody was...) reminds me of an animated film I saw recently Persepolis, based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film is also written and directed by her. Born in 1969 she grew up against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution which gave hope to Marjane’s family for a better society but which resulted in the Islamic fundamentalists gaining power and creating a repressive theocracy, more tyrannical than ever with atrocities like mass executions for political beliefs or failures in religious observance.

Fiesty and rebellious even as a very young teenager Marjane’s parents fear for her and eventually persuade her to leave Iran for an education in Vienna where they think she will be safer. Though the decision is taken for the best of reasons Marjane feels isolated in Vienna, surrounded by people who seem to her superficial, self-obsesesd and judgemental of her, whilst taking their own freedom and peace for granted. She becomes clinically depressed, ends up on the streets and very nearly dies of pnuemonia.

Rescued and taken to hospital Marjane recovers enough to ring her parents and ask them if she can return home, although she makes it clear she can't talk about her experiences in Vienna. Once home she finds things are even worse in Iran than they were when she left. She makes a futile attempt to conform, discovers that to do so she will have to compromise all she values most, her honesty, integrity and congruence, in order to be able to lead any sort of life at all and not be arrested. Only when she has the courage to stand up and protest against the double standards for men and women students at the University does she feel herself whole again, but this is dangerous and sadly she recognises she must leave 'for good.' Her mother, because she loves her daughter deeply, tells her 'This time you must never come back.' The return home has not been entirely without purpose. Marjane has come to terms with her roots and can tell the taxi driver who picks her up from the Parisien airport that she is from Iran without feeling apologetic or ashamed.

It sounds a grim story and it is, but Marjane tells it in pictures with self-knowledge and humour and apparent lack of bitterness, so that it is poignant but also a celebration of human spirit - and that sound like a horrible cliche as I write it, I just can’t think of a better way to say it at the moment. It’s a beautiful film.