Persepolis, the movie.

[Hammerskjold]

I recently saw this, the original french voices with subtitles version. Based on the comic (and based on the author's experience.) It's about a young girl growing up in Iran during the 1979 revolution. While it does deal with specifics, it's really quite timeless and universal in a way.

Mostly done in black and white traditional animation, with some minor CGI tweaks, it's visually one of the most beautiful film I've ever seen. In my not so humble opinion, 'Persepolis' is to animation as 'Maus' is to comics.

It's not all doom and gloom serious though, it's got a wicked sense of humour about it and loads of charm. I find it real hard to dislike a brat who rocks out with her tennis racket as a guitar to a bootlegged tape of Iron Maiden.

What with the recent sabre rattling, and Ahmadineejad's crazy rantings given more legitimacy and importance than it's due, this film gives a much needed reminder that there are important differences between people. But there are equally important similarities between them.

But again, it's not all doom and gloom. There are moments in it where it's incredibly uplifting.


(Spoiler alert)



You might not hear 'Eye of the Tiger' quite the same way again.
Definitely one of my favourite parts of the film, among many.




5 Michael Jackson buttons out of 5 from me.

[kandrathe]

I recently saw this, the original french voices with subtitles version. Based on the comic (and based on the author's experience.) It's about a young girl growing up in Iran during the 1979 revolution. While it does deal with specifics, it's really quite timeless and universal in a way.

Mostly done in black and white traditional animation, with some minor CGI tweaks, it's visually one of the most beautiful film I've ever seen. In my not so humble opinion, 'Persepolis' is to animation as 'Maus' is to comics.

It's not all doom and gloom serious though, it's got a wicked sense of humour about it and loads of charm. I find it real hard to dislike a brat who rocks out with her tennis racket as a guitar to a bootlegged tape of Iron Maiden.

What with the recent sabre rattling, and Ahmadineejad's crazy rantings given more legitimacy and importance than it's due, this film gives a much needed reminder that there are important differences between people. But there are equally important similarities between them.

But again, it's not all doom and gloom. There are moments in it where it's incredibly uplifting.
(Spoiler alert)
You might not hear 'Eye of the Tiger' quite the same way again.
Definitely one of my favourite parts of the film, among many.

5 Michael Jackson buttons out of 5 from me.

I'm reading Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader by Kasra Naji

Amazon link

P.S. I'm also thinking about getting Al Mahdi and the End of Time by Muhammad Ibn

[Hammerskjold]

>I'm reading [b]Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader by Kasra Naji

I'm no expert on the Middle East situation, but just from what little I know and observed anyway. Even though Mahmoud has the title of president, he's not necessarily the top cheese. The Ayatollah seems to be. Again, at least from my own limited understanding of the matter.

That's what sort of caught my attention during Ahmadinejad's visit to NY and the university lecture. Most of the reaction shown in the media seems to be treating him as if he is the defacto supreme leader. And that kind of thing seems to be playing into his hand. It's obviously not impossible that Ahmadinejad perhaps, wants to be the head cheese and bypass the Ayatollah. It certainly wouldn't be the first time when looking at the history of the world. (One doesn't need to be a particular nationality to have a craving for power. That trait can show up in anyone. To me it's what they do with it that merits scrutiny.)

To tie it back into Persepolis, there's segments in that film that not only made me laugh, but convinced me even more that Iron Maiden and Godzilla movies had a similar effect as rock & roll and Levi's jeans did during the Cold War. IMO it's an alternative worthy of serious consideration compared to dropping bombs on their heads in order to 'save' them.

It's a trite thing when I write it, that the problems is usually not with the people, but the policies and the persons behind the policies. (Not just in Iran, but any country IMO.) To me, Persepolis really brings that home to the personal level. Marjene and her family and friends knows that they're living under a repressive government. Leaving is not always an option for many reasons. One particular reason not always spoken out loud but made crystal clear in the film, is that despite the repression of their government, they do love the actual country.

(spoiler alert)

The scene where Marjene and her grandma visits the shore of the Caspian sea for the last time, before Marjene leaves Iran for the second and presumably last time, is a simple scene but to me a very powerful one. Anyone that loves their little corner of the world despite the problems, can recognize themselves in that scene. The particular geography and locations might be different, but the sentiment can be exactly identical.

[Lissa]

>I'm reading [b]Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader by Kasra Naji

I'm no expert on the Middle East situation, but just from what little I know and observed anyway. Even though Mahmoud has the title of president, he's not necessarily the top cheese. The Ayatollah seems to be. Again, at least from my own limited understanding of the matter.

That's what sort of caught my attention during Ahmadinejad's visit to NY and the university lecture. Most of the reaction shown in the media seems to be treating him as if he is the defacto supreme leader. And that kind of thing seems to be playing into his hand. It's obviously not impossible that Ahmadinejad perhaps, wants to be the head cheese and bypass the Ayatollah. It certainly wouldn't be the first time when looking at the history of the world. (One doesn't need to be a particular nationality to have a craving for power. That trait can show up in anyone. To me it's what they do with it that merits scrutiny.)

You are correct, he is not the supreme leader for Iran. All final decision on how Iran runs come from Qom, the "spiritual" head of Shia. The Mullahs and Ayatollahs have absolute control over the Iranians and can nix anything that the "government" comes up with. The Revolutionary Guard is also controlled completely by the Mullahs and Ayatollahs.

[kandrathe]

...
To tie it back into Persepolis, there's segments in that film that not only made me laugh, but convinced me even more that Iron Maiden and Godzilla movies had a similar effect as rock & roll and Levi's jeans did during the Cold War. IMO it's an alternative worthy of serious consideration compared to dropping bombs on their heads in order to 'save' them.

I am fine with the spectacle of people living in freedom winning the hearts and minds of the oppressed, but it seems a bit sinister for us to flaunt it as a temptation.

... Anyone that loves their little corner of the world despite the problems, can recognize themselves in that scene. The particular geography and locations might be different, but the sentiment can be exactly identical.

I can relate in that I've spent lengthy times away from Minnesota, but I pine for it eventually (usually within a month). It's the place where I'm the most comfortable, and I can relate to the people here the best. I tend to disagree politically with the majority in my State, but I live in a precinct that is one of the most conservative. The liberals are very far left trying to figure out how best they can squeeze more tax money from the productive, and the right wingers are on the lunatic fringe and single issue focused (anti-abortionists). Luckily, the revolutionary guards of Minnesota are not harassing me and my family so I can stay.

[Mithrandir]

I've been reading a lot about this movie for a while and I really want to see it. The visual style of the film is really interesting IMO. No theaters around me are playing it though so I might have to wait for the DVD release. No place is showing There Will Be Blood either. Grrr.

After the colossal disappointment that Cloverfield was, I really need to see a good movie to wash the taste out of my mouth... then the top two other movies I wanted to see this month aren't playing anywhere near me. Quite frustrating.

[Hammerskjold]

> No place is showing There Will Be Blood either. Grrr.

"There Will Be Blood" looks really good.


> then the top two other movies I wanted to see this month aren't playing anywhere near me. Quite frustrating.

I'm fairly lucky that there's a theatre nearby that plays some of the limited release movies. But yeah, in many cases waiting for the DVD might be the only way. It does suck sometimes though, since imo some movies really benefits from the big screen treatment.

I saw "No Country For Old Men" in the theatres, and I'm glad I did. There are scenes in that movie that really needs a big screen for the full impact.

[Mithrandir]

I saw "No Country For Old Men" in the theatres, and I'm glad I did. There are scenes in that movie that really needs a big screen for the full impact.

I saw No Country For Old Men a few days ago and I must say that it really blew me away. Fantastic movie. Last weekend my friends and I had a drunken argument about the most underrated director(s) in Hollywood and my vehement claim was that it was the Coen brothers... No Country For Old Men completely validated my assessment IMO (although Big Lebowski is still their best movie:)).

On a side note, Tim Burton is by far the most overrated director currently working (perhaps that has ever worked). The guy has never done a movie that was even mediocre much less - *gasp* - good.

Anyhoo...

I saw There Will Be Blood this evening (it finally opened up in my city yaaay - doesn't look like there will be any luck with Persepolis though) and thought it was quite good. Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano completely carried the movie (Paul Dano, BTW, was a huge surprise and absolutely stole a couple scenes from Daniel Day Lewis... he has come a long way since be "Klitz" in the The Girl Next Door). The movie was a "little" disappointing in the sense that in many ways it just felt like a vehicle to get Daniel Day Lewis an Oscar - my buddy and I left the theater kinda wondering what the point of it all was... Nonetheless, There Will Be Blood is an outstanding character study movie and it never purports to be anything else. It will definitely be one of the top movies of 2008, but the fact that it is #21 on the IMDB 250 and being compared to Citizen Kane is a pretty significant stretch I feel. It's quite good, but not that good.

[Lissa]

On a side note, Tim Burton is by far the most overrated director currently working (perhaps that has ever worked). The guy has never done a movie that was even mediocre much less - *gasp* - good.

Wha? Do you remember the original Batmans with Keating? How about Beetlejuice? Burton was the only director of the original Batmans (pre Bale) that nailed the setting. A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that finally had Dahl's family saying someone got it right. Granted, he's had some stinkers (Planet of the Apes comes to mind), but I would hardly say that he's done nothing but mediocre movies. Likewise, the man has never won an Oscar (and neither has Depp who very much deserves to have a couple Oscars). You can't really be overated in my book unless you're won some oscars and have then gone on to release some utter tripe and haven't returned to your prior Oscar level performances.

[Mithrandir]

Wha? Do you remember the original Batmans with Keating? How about Beetlejuice? Burton was the only director of the original Batmans (pre Bale) that nailed the setting. A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that finally had Dahl's family saying someone got it right. Granted, he's had some stinkers (Planet of the Apes comes to mind), but I would hardly say that he's done nothing but mediocre movies. Likewise, the man has never won an Oscar (and neither has Depp who very much deserves to have a couple Oscars). You can't really be overated in my book unless you're won some oscars and have then gone on to release some utter tripe and haven't returned to your prior Oscar level performances.

Batman sucked. Actually, all the Batman movies sucked pre-Nolan, but Burton is only responsible for two of those so not all of that can be piled on him. Beetlejuice is probably Burton's best movie - and my "best" I mean "it came the closest to almost being mediocre".

I disagree with your assessment that a director cannot be overrated unless they have won an Oscar. Burton is almost universally praised by critics (Sweeney Todd current has an 87% at rottentomatoes.com and it was *horrible*) for some unknown reason. Almost everyone thinks Burton is great. I think he stinks. Thus, overrated.

Oscars are a silly way of dictating who is the best anyway. Who cares who a bunch of ultra-conservative stuffy fossils think is the best actor, director, supporting actor, etc.? Most of the Academy voters are more interested in pushing agendas than voting for the best anyway.