Last month, as Marjane Satrapi, creator of “Persepolis,” flew around the U.S. for a whirlwind press push, news broke that a new National Intelligence Estimate dramatically downgraded previous claims about Iran’s nuclear program.
On a more artistic note: The 38-year-old’s animated film based on her illustrated memoirs about growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution had just won the National Board of Review’s Freedom of Expression Award (along with “The Great Debaters”).
The tension between the fraught and the possible wasn’t lost on the first-time director.
“I’ve always tried to make a distinction between the American people and U.S. policy,” she said, calling with a terrible cold from Paris where she lives with her husband. “Everywhere I traveled in the U.S., I really talked a lot about the human side.
“What if you consider that the other is not the enemy, not just the ‘Axis of Evil.’ Bombing them isn’t as easy. Because you’re not just bombing the Axis of Evil, you’re bombing people that have parents, kids. I feel pretty humble as an artist. I don’t think I can change the world, but if I can help people ask the question, ‘Who are these people? Are they just like us? Are they human beings?’ This is the maximum I ask for.”
Co-written and co-directed with best friend Vincent Paronnaud, the black-and-white wonder has received a reception that provides fresh evidence of the power of a humanism Satrapi swears by.
“Persepolis” begins in pre-revolutionary Iran where “Marji” lives mostly among adults, in particular her educated parents and her wry grandmother (voiced by Catherine Deneuve). She also has a rich imagination. The aspiring prophet consults with two of her closest confidants: God and Karl Marx. With the exception of a curlier mane, the dialectical duo look like they were separated at birth.
The movie won a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival where it debuted last May. Since then it’s continued to gain critical momentum. At the 30th Starz Denver Film Festival, it took home the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for best feature film. Both the New York and Los Angeles film critics groups named it 2007’s best animated feature. It was nominated for the best foreign language Golden Globe. Hopes are it will be nominated for an Oscar.
“That it has been received this way is just a miracle,” said Satrapi in a musical if hoarse voice. “For us it’s really unreal. I was talking the other day with Vincent, and I asked him, ‘Do you think we’ll ever understand what has happened?’ ” She pauses and answers for herself. “No, I don’t think we’ll ever understand. But we enjoy it.”
Rights to the film have sold in 24 countries and the filmmakers have tag-teamed a schedule that includes Tapei, London, Japan, Switzerland and on.
The first time Satrapi traveled to the U.S. was in 1999. Her British husband was granted a three-month visa. “I got a nine-month visa,” She said. He asked, recalled Satrapi, why the disparity?
“The officer told him ‘Because she’s cute and you’re not.’ ”
After Sept. 11, the story changed. “I was stopped for three hours and they let him go,” she said, then laughed. “In my brain I’m, like, ‘Wait, I’m the same good girl, I’m the same person. Why did you stop me? Please give me my visa, I’m still cute.’ But no one wanted to listen to me, I was the enemy.”
It’s this ability to toggle between humorous observation and vexing political realities that makes “Persepolis” so astute and charming.
As lovely as the published memoir is, Satrapi, Paronnaud and their crew of animators have delivered an even richer cinematic experience.
“The nicest compliment we got for this movie is people saying after 10 minutes they forget it’s animation,” she said. “I have been saying animation isn’t a genre, it’s a medium. Suddenly it becomes a human story. It becomes your neighbor, your sister, your friend or yourself.”
