An animated feature based on the graphic novels of Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, this film follows the life of Marjane as she comes of age in modern day Iran. Raised during the Islamic Revolution, we see life through the eyes of a spunky and bright Iranian child who sees her country fall under oppressive rule and then nearly destroyed by ten years of war with Iraq. Fleeing to Europe for the safety and freedom of school, returning to a country devastated by war, and leaving again for a new life in Paris after a failed marriage, Marjene lives a life unlike that of most American movie-goers, and yet much of her pain and trauma is truly universal. From learning about loss as a child, learning to cope with the physical changes of adolescence, feeling like an outcast in high school, first heartbreaks, and a battle with depression, Marjene's struggles are ones that most of us can relate to, even if we didn't suffer ours in strange countries or under the strain of dictatorship.
Iran is a key country politically and yet one that so few Americans know anything about. This movie allows us a unique look into what daily life was, and is, like in a country that is so important and yet so unknown by the West. A sad story but one not without hope, this is a unique movie that everyone should see.
