Marjane Satrapi adapts her autobiographical novel into this animated film, chronicling the story of a young Iranian girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. Sent to a boarding school in Austria, the precocious Marji finds that her ethnic origin fuels racial prejudices. As an adult, Iranian society forces her to leave the country again, this time for France, where she hopes to finally assert her cultural identity in a context where freedom and equality are threatened.
"Marji" is a young girl growing up in Iran just as the imperial Pahlavi regime is toppled and the birth of the Islamic republic proclaimed. Optimism is the order of the day, with everyone hoping the new government will represent new freedoms and liberties for all. Ha! Fat chance, as they say, and things start to become a bit dangerous for this honest and outspoken girl. To avert a familial disaster, her parents manage to get her studying in Vienna, but once there she finds herself immersed in a culture that is alien to her and one that doesn't live up to her (rather naive) expectations. Now she is truly rudderless - where does she belong? Where can she belong? The animation here is quite effective. It's basic, monochrome and at times it's slightly stop-motion style illustrates well the changing politics at home and her own attitudes as she matures and becomes less and less settled. It does cram a great deal in. We move through the decades at breakneck speed which at times disappoints. There are times when I would have liked to linger a bit longer with some aspects of her development, but it's still a lively and thought-provoking watch for much of the time and is well worth a watch.
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