Rating of
3/4
Greatly Satisfying
Franz Patrick - wrote on 10/17/08
This may be an animated film on the outside but don’t let that fool you. This is a heavily political, self-aware, coming of age film that focuses on an inquisitive Iranian girl that turned into a strong Iranian woman. I have to admit that I didn’t understand the politics because I don’t know much about the history of Iran. So, it took me a while to get used to the background of the story. Things really started to pick up when the focus turns to the character; how she had to lose people she loved because of the Islamic Revolution, her immigration to western Europe, her experience with boys, and her eventual return to her home country. I thought this was a very insightful film but the drama wasn’t heavy-handed. In fact, there were a lot of humorous scenes from time to time in order to make the story a little lighter. I could relate with the main character’s rebellion even though I didn’t go through the same things she did, whether it’s hanging out with people who are outsiders themselves or immersing herself with hard rock music. Her most sensitive episodes when she came to be embarrassed of who she is and where she came from is not far from what I had experienced when I had to assimilate when I was new in America. This really is an impressive not-so-ordinary animated film because it aims to bring down barriers: that animated movies are mainly for children. I must also give kudos to Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi for writing and directing this good-hearted picture. I also admired the voice-over of the main character by Chiara Mastroianni. I enthusiastically recommend this movie because it’s something different and it really does have a great message about our relationship with our cultural identities.
