Film Special: Persepolis

What do you do when your early life is shaped by war, revolution and violence? Do you become a martyr for the homeland? Do you try to run away, escaping into the unknown? Or do you stay true to yourself and the basic human values of love, the importance of family and freedom?

Marjane Satrapi, a vibrant ideologically inclined child, seemed to have chosen to follow her grandmother's sage advice and be true to her self. An already difficult task on the best of times, it becomes even harder in the face of the Islamic revolution in Iran of 1978 and the long and deadly Iran-Iraq war that broke soon after. The movie, based on her autobiographical graphic novel, continues to depict the horrors of war, the unfathomable restrictions of the new regime, lonely adventures in Europe and finally coming home, only to find living conditions there have become so spirit stifling as to depress the liveliest of souls.

In the end though, I think that these barriers of personal freedom only serve as a backdrop and catalyst to the final departure of the heroine to the West. It is the personal memories that hurt the most, so cruelly violated by the "new order", a people's revolution gone awry.

Though not directly connected to the movie, I wanted to share a wonderful Tom Brosseau song, that may help to capture some of the feelings of young Marjane.

Tom Brosseau - The Young and the Free (Live) {MP3} (from Tom Brosseau)

Persepolis trailer

Film Special: Waltz with Bashir

In honor of "Waltz with Bashir" winning the Golden Globe last night and in hope of it winning the coming Oscar, I wanted to dedicate a few words for this singular movie experience (check the movie's official site here).

The first thing that captures your attention is the somewhat unusual choice of medium - animation. Once connected mostly with children related content, animation, in movies and literature, has changed to appeal to wider and more mature audiences. Or maybe it was the audience that has changed, becoming more accustomed and receptive to other forms of expression.

Either way, whatever the reason, the medium has a very profound impact on the viewer in this instance. This is also a part of another unique feature of the film - its candid and unequivocal approach with the subject matter. It's not just a war movie; it focuses on the human side of it. In a scenario where the grotesque, hellish and bizarre are the norm, the ordinary man, torn from his everyday life, has his sanity questioned. But the questioning doesn't stop, even when the battle is officially over; the aftermath, years later, is just as important. The protagonist's battle certainly hasn't ended: it is his struggle to recall the lost memories of the period while facing the present plaguing nightmares that direct the movie's plot and heading. It is a course that would eventually wound up on itself, taking the movie goer with it.

There are so many questions being raised throughout, both explicit and implicit. Morality, man's place and relation in society, obedience, the necessity of violence and the futility of it all, are just the beginning. Are there any good answers? I don't know. But "Waltz with Bashir" is a hell of a way of raising those questions to mind and heart.

"Waltz with Bashir" trailer