Persepolis

Five years ago, I had to read Persepolis for a college course. The book was actually an interesting graphic novel, so reading it was far more enjoyable than tedious. Keith and Marissa also had to read it, and Sweeney did so about a year and a half ago for pleasure. It's a fairly autobiographical account of Marjane Satrapi and the early portion of her life. Marjane spent her childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and the early part of the Iran-Iraq War. As her homeland became more and more unsafe, her parents decided to send her away to a boarding school in Vienna, where she endured an entirely different type of struggle: adolescence in a foreign country. At the age of twenty or so, after experimenting with love and drugs and bottoming out in Europe, Marjane returns to a post-war Iran to find her home ruled by a fundamentalist Muslim regime. (You know the type.) She goes to college and becomes a feminist and endures a failed marriage before ultimately coming to the conclusion that there's nothing left in Iran for her. She leaves for Europe once more, this time for good. And... scene. The movie played out a whole lot like the book, but made some notable cuts tot he story. I'm not complaining; it was only 95 minutes long, and you know I love myself an easy logging. I'm still impressed by Marjane's story. Its natural three-act structure - a tumultuous childhood, an unconventional adolescence, and an enlightening return - make it a remarkable story with very apparent momentum and development. I have to say that the movie's ending felt markedly different from the book's tonally. Although both stories end with Marjane leaving for Europe for a second time, the book makes it seem like a happy and not even permanent decision. Marjane's parents wave farewell to her with smiles on their faces, and know they'll see her soon enough. The movie, however, throws in a line from the mother like, "I forbid you to ever come back to Iran," and Marjane's frown-filled arrival in Europe is met with bittersweet music. So while the book's ending felt kind of happy - "Iran may be a shitty place, but look at the very fulfilling life and promising future this smart and well-rounded woman has" - the movie's took on an entirely different (and depressing) note - "all this girl wanted was to be able to come home again, but her country was so terrible that she never had a shot at making it work." I'd recommend the movie, but not quite as much as I'd recommend the book. I mean, it's a graphic novel - just give it a shot.