An extraordinary adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about a young Iranian woman coming of age in the 1970s and ’80s. Although Satrapi experienced the Iranian Revolution, the resulting Islamic fundamentalist government and a stint in Vienna to escape all the turmoil, Persepolis eschews outright politicizing and stands as a personal story first and foremost. The stark, black and white imagery bolsters this impression. Satrapi – whose voice is provided by Chiara Mastroianni – may be aloof, even snarky, yet the use of shadows and light reveal a bruised and fractured psyche. Satrapi shared screenwriting and directing credit with Vincent Paronnaud.
