Based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about her life in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran and then in Europe, PERSEPOLIS (2007, 96 mins) by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud is the poignant story of a young girl during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of the precocious and outspoken 9-year-old Marjane that we see a people’s hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power–forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. It’s in its way, a hymn to the enduring influence of family, particularly during a time in which the state is attempting to seize all hearts, minds and instincts for itself.

English subs. Free Entrance.