Persepolis (2006)

Persian culture boasts a glorious history that stretches back three thousand years, but the last thirty years have not been kind. This award-winning animated film is partly a historical review of the political revolution that overthrew the secular-minded Shah in 1978–1979, the eight-year war with neighboring Iraq that followed about a year later and slaughtered a million people (1980–1988), and the religious extremism that filled the power vacuum along the way. In particular, the film follows the plight of a precocious and independent-minded little girl named Marjane and her extended family, and how all this upheaval impacted them. At this level Persepolis is a powerful story about personal identity, cultural consciousness, difficult choices, and historical fate. The film was written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, and based on the two best-selling graphic novels by Satrapi. In French with English subtitles.