Movies I Watched Instead of Writing: Persepolis

Let me say it right now: the Oscars are a crock of shit. Some of you may not be surprised by that statement, and I have long held that sentiment, particularly after having read Robert S. Sennett's book Hollywood Hoopla which goes into the social and economic conditions in which lead to the creation of the Academy Awards. Basically, ticket sales were dropping so they needed a big glitzy event to get people excited about movies. Celebrating "artistic achievement" was an afterthought.

However, my opinion was further cemented upon having watched the moving and beautiful Persepolis, which just lost the best animated feature Oscar to Ratatouille. Don't get me wrong, I like Pixar as much as the next girl. I think Brad Bird is extremely talented. And while I haven't actually seen Ratatouille yet, I have a very hard time believing that a comedy about a cooking rat is more deserving of an Oscar, the American symbol of excellence in film, than Persepolis, which is a socially relevant, innovatively realized, important work of ART. It further elevates animation being children's entertainment, and proves that countries other than the US and Japan can consistently produce compelling animation.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Persepolis is the biographical memoir of Marjane Satrapi, who grew up Iran during the fall of the Shah. The film starts as a fascinating look at revolution and war from a child's perspective, then slowly shifts to become a more general coming of age tale, coloured by war and tragedy and oppression. Director Vincent Parronaud wisely chose to stay as close to the original artwork as possible and Satrapi is credited as is credited as a Co-Director. While the drawings themselves may seem overly simple compared to the CGI wizardry of Pixar, they are the images that best suit the story and are complemented nicely by Satrapi's evocative backgrounds and subtle facial animations.

Although the story itself contains many sad moments, it is far from being dreary and is more personal than it is pedantic. It is overall an uplifting and inspiring story about maintaining one's personal integrity, no matter what.

Being that the graphic novel was originally written in French, I was lucky enough to see the film with the original French language track, without subtitles. I am not sure how the film is being shown in other parts of the world, but I do recommend viewing it with the original language track if possible as the voice acting is very strong and adds to the emotional impact of the film. Particularly great is Gabrielle Lopes as the voice of Marjane as a child, and I would be remiss if I did not mention Catherine Deneuve as the voice of Marjane's mother.

As to why the film was so sorely overlooked, there are several possible reasons. Some political, some not:

1) No one bothered to watch it. - This is the most likely reason, and why I've never felt that the Oscars deserve the amount of prestige that people continue to associated with them.

2) It is in Black and White. - Black and White = Old fashioned & boring to Hollywood. And yet the framing sequences set in the present are in colour and the use of a black and white colour scheme is clearly meant as a stylistic choice.

3) It is 2D animation. - 2D = Old Fashioned. This is why Disney closed their 2D animation studio, even though 2D animation is still cheaper to produce and is still artistically relevant (perhaps even more so now than it has ever been).

4) It is in a foreign language. - Because God forbid you have to read when you go to the movies.

5) It presents an alternative view of Iran, enemy of the US. - It's a lot harder to make a case for bombing the shit out of a country if you realize they're just as fucked up and diverse as the rest of us.

6) Satrapi's family are unapologetic Communists. - Okay, this one's getting a little conspiracy-theory, but let's face it: the Academy has always been scared of Commies.

7) It comes from France. - Those Commie, freedom hating frog eaters! And again, God forbid a country that didn't spawn Walt Disney is capable of making animated films.

8) It's too arty. - It isn't an animated film if it doesn't have voice-work by washed-up comedians and songs by writers of the adult contemporary variety.

9) You can't take kids to it. - Well, you could, and I would recommend you did, although not under the age of 8; but that isn't necessarily the target audience. Apparently, animation isn't supposed to be "serious".

10) It's actually good. - Now I'm just being bitter...