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Persepolis
I'd been meaning to watch this for a long time. I got the graphic novel out of the library earlier in the year but wasn't able to read it because the text was too small (gah, must be getting old...). So, when it was suggested for our regular political film night, I endorsed the choice enthusiastically.
The film tells the story of a young girl growing up in Iran in the 70s and 80s, and then going away to school in Vienna. It did have some politics in it - there was a lot of discussion of the political situation in Iran and how this affected the various adults in the girl's life - but it was much more a personal story of her experiences.
There was some complex discussion of identity - she felt strongly attached to her home country, but also very restricted by it, and initially hid her nationality when talking to people abroad. She didn't feel like she fit in with her peers in Vienna, but also couldn't find a place of safety to exist after she went home. So, the story was quite bleak. It didn't come to any real conclusion, just ending with her arrival in Paris, but I think that was the point - life doesn't have a neat arc with a satisfying ending, it just goes on and you have to make the best of it.
I loved the protagonist's grandmother, who spoke good sense to her at all stages, whether face-to-face or just as the voice of her conscience.
The film tells the story of a young girl growing up in Iran in the 70s and 80s, and then going away to school in Vienna. It did have some politics in it - there was a lot of discussion of the political situation in Iran and how this affected the various adults in the girl's life - but it was much more a personal story of her experiences.
There was some complex discussion of identity - she felt strongly attached to her home country, but also very restricted by it, and initially hid her nationality when talking to people abroad. She didn't feel like she fit in with her peers in Vienna, but also couldn't find a place of safety to exist after she went home. So, the story was quite bleak. It didn't come to any real conclusion, just ending with her arrival in Paris, but I think that was the point - life doesn't have a neat arc with a satisfying ending, it just goes on and you have to make the best of it.
I loved the protagonist's grandmother, who spoke good sense to her at all stages, whether face-to-face or just as the voice of her conscience.