Persepolis - Film Adaptation

 Author: James Higgin

Persepolis (2008 UK release date) is the autobiographical film based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name, directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. Starring big names such as Iggy Pop and Sean Penn (in the English version), alongside those who many would consider as lesser known, more regionally famous, actors, such as Catherine Deneuve and Amethyste Frezigna, the film presents a clash between western (Hollywood) and more regional (French/Iranian) cultures both within its plot and its form. It was great to see that Satrapi had such an integral role (as director and writer) in taking her novel to the big screen as this made sure that, despite differing in some ways, the film remained faithful to the thematic issues of the original art form, issues such as; oppression, feminism, identity and family.

Very much a bildungsroman, following Marjane’s life, from childhood through her adolescent years the films plot starts in Iran before moving to Vienna. We see how Marjane represents the youthful optimism of the Iranian revolution and how that optimism slowly fades. Her outspoken nature forces her parents to send her to a French Lycee in Vienna, Austria where the young girl meets her first love Markus and really begins to understand what it means, on an international stage, to be an Iranian.

The film can be seen as a useful aide to studying Iranian history, particularly around the time of the last Shah. However, the history is given from a very one sided viewpoint and I couldn’t stop myself thinking that it was a viewpoint that would be very pleasing to a Western audience, something Craig Quirie eludes to in his critical review of the novel (available here), “holistically the novel gives the reader a very broad view of the events between the late 1970’s and 1990’s from a focalised point of view, concerning only a few individuals”. It is important to remember throughout the film that this is a story of one individual’s struggle against oppression and not a historical documentary.

Visually, the film is no different to the novel, with the animation mirroring Satrapi’s simple yet effective illustration. However, some elements are, understandably, different. For example, the structure of the novel and film are slightly different, with the novel having a different start point and perhaps a more linear structure. Marjane’s relationship with Markus is also expanded upon in much more detail than in the film, which makes it all the more meaningful.

Normally I am utterly opposed to reading a book after seeing a film and insist on doing it the other way round, yet bizarrely I actually saw the film before reading the novel. Within this lies the biggest praise I can give this film, it actually made me want to pick up the book and learn about Marjane’s story in even more depth. Tim Robey of the Daily Telegraph wrote that “You could ask for a more hardcore adaptation of her bitterly funny, sad and angry book, I think, but not for a more enjoyable one”, yet I think this misses the point. This is not a standalone piece and works in combination with the graphic novel. All in all I found the film to be a fantastic recreation of the novel, showing that differing creative practices can represent the same themes, but in different ways. Cleary the graphic novel has more depth than the film and can work on more levels as is always the case with literature, however, the film makes Satrapi’s story more accessible to a larger audience.

Rating: 4.5/5

See the trailer here!