Persepolis

Director: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

2007 / 96min / 35mm

Satrapi, co-writing and directing with Paronnaud, adapted her own series of graphic novels into this groundbreaking animated feature, a rare work of adult introspection and political protest in a field largely dominated by kiddie fare, its distinctive style—and air of gathering anxiety—showing the influence of silent-era German Expressionism. The 1979 Iranian revolution and its aftermath—including crackdowns on Communist dissidents and strictures on the dress and behavior of women—is seen through the eyes of Marjane as she grows from a precocious nine-year-old to a rambunctious teenage metalhead, placing an epic national tragedy on an intimate, personal scale.