Persepolis (2007)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Vincent Paronnaud
Marjane Satrapi

Writers:

Marjane Satrapi (comic)
Vincent Paronnaud (scenario)

Release Date:

27 June 2007 (France)

Genre:

Animation | Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.

Plot Keywords:

Iran | Revolution | 1970s | Dream | Tyranny

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 15 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Chiara Mastroianni	...	Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi, as a teenager and a woman (voice)
Catherine Deneuve	...	Mrs. Satrapi - Marjane's mother (voice)
Danielle Darrieux	...	Marjane's grandmother (voice)
Simon Abkarian	...	Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's father (voice)
Gabrielle Lopes Benites	...	Marjane as a child (voice)
François Jerosme	...	Uncle Anouche (voice)
Sophie Arthuys	...	(voice)
Jean-François Gallotte
Arié Elmaleh	...	(voice)
Mathias Mlekuz	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stéphane Foenkinos
Amethyste Frezignac	...	Marjane as a child (voice: English version)
Tilly Mandelbrot	...	Lali (voice)
Sean Penn	...	Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's father (voice: English version)
Iggy Pop	...	Uncle Anouche (voice: English version)
Gena Rowlands	...	Marjane's grandmother (voice: English version)

Directed by
Vincent Paronnaud
Marjane Satrapi

Writing credits
Marjane Satrapi		(comic)
Vincent Paronnaud		(scenario)

Produced by
Tara Grace	....	co-producer
Marc Jousset	....	executive producer
Kathleen Kennedy	....	executive producer
Xavier Rigault	....	producer
Marc-Antoine Robert	....	producer
Vitaliy Versace	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Olivier Bernet

Film Editing by
Stéphane Roche

Production Design by
Marisa Musy

Production Management
Olivier Bizet	....	production manager
Christina Crassaris	....	post-production supervisor
Olivier Gravenhorst	....	post-production supervisor

Art Department
Marc Jousset	....	artistic director
Thierry Million	....	lead background artist

Sound Department
Samy Bardet	....	sound editor
Samy Bardet	....	sound re-recording mixer
Samy Bardet	....	supervising sound editor
Jacques Defrance	....	foley artist
Thierry Lebon	....	sound re-recording mixer
Johann Nallet	....	sound recordist
Philippe Penot	....	foley artist
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Visual Effects by
Jimmy Capron	....	scanning operator
Cyril Cosenza	....	research & development supervisor
Frank Miyet	....	supervision tracé
Stéphane Roche	....	animatics

Animation Department
Damien Barrau	....	animator: 2D
Pascal Chevet	....	animator
Christian Desmares	....	animation coordinator
Cecile Dubois-Herry	....	assistant animator
Florian Fiebig	....	key animator
Nathalie Mathé	....	cg animator
Thierry Peres	....	assistant animator
Jung Wang	....	layout supervisor

Casting Department
Sylvie Peyrucq	....	voice casting

Editorial Department
Christian Dutac	....	color timer

Music Department
Olivier Bernet	....	music arranger
Olivier Bernet	....	musical director
Olivier Bernet	....	musician: synthesizer, bass, piano, ukulele, drums
Sophie Bousquet	....	musician: flute
Stéphane Garin	....	musician: percussion
Xavier Hayet	....	musician: string bass
Marianne Eva Lecler	....	musician: harp
Victor Marco	....	musician: acoustic guitar
Vincent Paronnaud	....	musician: bass, voice
Maitane Sebastian	....	musician: cello, voice

Other crew
Sylvain Audi	....	background voices
John Charles	....	software manager: Sony DAC
Elyse Klaits	....	associate: Ms. Kennedy
Hengameh Panahi	....	world sales head: celluloid dreams
Charles-Edouard Renault	....	legal counsel

Production Companies

• 2.4.7. Films (present)
• France 3 Cinéma (co-production)
• Kennedy/Marshall Company, The (co-production)
• French Connection Animations (co-production)
• Diaphana Films (co-production) (as Diaphana Distribution)
• Celluloid Dreams (in association with)
• Sony Pictures Classics (in association with)
• Soficinéma (in association with) (as Sofica Soficinéma)
• Sofica Europacorp (in association with)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Région Ile-de-France (participation) (as La Région Île-de-Franc)
• Fondation GAN pour le Cinéma (participation) (as Fondation Groupama GAN pour le Cinéma)
• Procirep (participation) (as La Procirep)
• Société des Producteurs de L'Angoa (participation) (as L'Angoa)

Distributors

• Diaphana Films (2007) (France) (theatrical) (as Diaphana Distribution)
• TF1 Vidéo (2007) (France) (DVD)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2007) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2007) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (2007) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Green Light Films (2007) (Iceland) (theatrical)
• Gutek Film (2007) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Longride (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• PCV (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome International (2007) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Norge (2007) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sponge (2007) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Front Row Distributors (2008) (Lebanon) (all media)
• Front Row Distributors (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD)
• Optimum Releasing (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sandrews (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Je Suis Bien Content  animation studio
• Pumpkin 3d  animation studio (as Pumpkin-3D)
• Toho Company  Gojira/Godzilla is a trademark of

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content.

Runtime:

96 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French | English | Persian | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:7 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:6 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:12A (2008) | Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating)

Company:

2.4.7. Films

Trivia:

Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni lent their voices to the movie's English- and French-language versions, playing the same roles.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The departures board at Paris Orly at the beginning has Cincinnati misspelled as "Cincinatti".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Airport receptionist: Ticket and passport, please.

Movie Connections:

References Gojira (1954)

Soundtrack:

Marche Persanne

Not your average animated feature...

...in fact, there is nothing average about this film. Traditionally animated in black and white flashbacks, it tells the story of a French-speaking woman's childhood and young adulthood in Tehran, Iran, and in Vienna during the 1980s and '90s.

Marjane Satrapi grew up in a family of revolutionaries against the Shah's regime and the Islamic government that subsequently took hold, and the film literally illustrates her feelings and thought processes as a little girl, following her as the government control in Iran got more and more strict. When her parents insist she leave the country, we also see her struggling to deal with adolescence and missing her beloved family; when she returns, she is also coping with the increasing repression of her freedoms as a woman. Most of all, you see her own personal conflict as she tries to stay true to herself.

This movie beautifully balances both the historic and personal issues and pulls the threads together into a compelling narrative, made a bit quirky by the style of presentation, resulting in work that is altogether touching. Along with intelligence and humor, a deep and strong sense of truth infuses every part of this film, making it even stronger. One of my only qualms was the feeling that it ended somewhat abruptly without much of a conclusion.

Overall, though, it was fantastic - definitely worth watching.