Friday, January 25, 2008

Persepolis

Rating:★★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Animation
This review is terribly delayed, due to weeks of having to do stuff I dislike, and it’s not even work. Anyway, I’m back and I’ll try to reminisce whatever impressions I have left for Persepolis animation.

I thought that watching a movie based on a book would never bring new sensations towards the work. Especially in this case, a full-featured cartoon based on a graphic memoir: one two-dimensional work after another. What would be different except one being dynamic and the other one static?

I’ve bought and read the books (a box set of Persepolis 1 & Persepolis 2) and deeply enjoyed their stories, wits, complexities and graphics. And there are values beyond the mere words and pictures that are charmingly combined in the books. Therefore it’s clear that I don’t want any animation version ruining my perception towards the whole stories, which are being told in an amazing way through the ‘graphic novel’ media.

But I trust Satrapi, her involvement in the project, and – of course – her insistence in achieving her artistic standards. So I was naturally very curious about the movie.

The long-awaited time came during the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFEST) 2007, where Persepolis was screened three times (among which, one was for the opening/ for invitation only). It didn’t take long until I asked my sister to immediately buy tickets for us (and it was a wise move, knowing the fact that tickets for Persepolis were sold out rather quickly). Right. On to the movie.

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A prologue featured the little Satrapi in a short occurrence. Perhaps to show what kind of girl she is even at a very young age: bold, yet witty. Then came the title and credits. It’s all black and white, and two-dimensional, indeed, but it visually resembled a shadow-puppet play. The falling leaves, the wind and the wave, the dynamic shots from one object to another, the whole aura that seemed like coming from a faraway land. From here, my hope raised. I knew I would enjoy the ride!

The movie continued with a scene of the adult Satrapi, sitting in an airport, waiting for her flight to Iran, in color. She started telling her stories, narrating the whole flashback scene (yes, in B/W) to the audience.
The next I could remember were flashes of images, similar to but not quite the same with the printed ones. The animated version is more fluid, of course, and the accompanying sound effects could enhance the scenes. Sadness (death of a neighbor, jailed uncle), fright (fleeing from the patrols who found out about a party), even sweetness (fallen jasmine flowers from grandma’s bosom), cuteness (little Satrapi leading her gang) and other senses are presented so touchingly.

For those who haven’t read the book, perhaps the movie is too dense. There are indeed so many things to tell, and who knows how much one can register in one viewing.

As for me and other audience who have read the book, this movie might just be a confirmation of what we’ve read. But what I like most about it is that it’s just not a ‘moving’ version of Satrapi’s drawings – and that it didn’t bore us by telling the same stories with the same sequence. Some scenes were unexpected, and some of them were even funny! Truly an animation that plays with your emotions; the kind you can’t just watch once and forget. It is, for me, like a second treat to appreciating Persepolis. My highest compliments go to this work. I intend to acquire and treasure the DVD, for it is not a mere bunch of drawings arranged into celluloid that makes an animation: it presents a process of maturity, thoughts and values.


Image source: http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persepolis/

30 comments:

  1. iya nih.. masak katanya film ini bakal menang oscar, instead of Ratatuye.. mesti nonton aahh..

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  2. udah menang di cannes, dan katanya dapet standing ovation lama banget wkt di sana! udah baca bukunya belom?

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  3. Tita...ngga nyangka lho waktu nonton film animasi ini kok ternyata menghanyutkan banget. Ternyata ada bukunya yah, jadi pengen baca juga. Di Gramedia ada ngga ya?

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  4. Tks reviewnya Ta. Di sini main, tapi pake bhs Perancis. Gue tunggu DVD kali :D

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  5. ada bukunya juga ya? aku baru nonton film nya aja

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  6. filmnya kren, bagus...bukunya blom beli...265rebu...huhuuuu....punyanya yg Embroideries (Bordir)...itu juga yg versi indonesia...kren juga.

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  7. keren bagus banget yah Ta...gw suka style gambarnya ibu Satrapi ini dan gilanya tehnik animasinya keren yah...walaupun mengingatkan sama ending titlenya unfortunate events-nya lemony snicket yah Ta...

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  8. sepertinya enggak deh. coba cari di kinokuniya, kalo nggak salah gue pernah liat yg box set (persis punya gue), isinya persepolis 1 + 2.

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  9. ah iyaa.. waktu di JIFFEST ada subtitle inggrisnya sih, jadi menolong sekali! eh kalo DVDnya keluar duluan di situ, sptnya gue mau nitip :">

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  10. ada. film ini main ya di bioskop2 sana? di indonesia mana mungkin kalo nggak di JIFFEST gini.. :P

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  11. ini ada di mana?
    yg box set saya dulu beli harganya 25 euro..

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  12. nah ini gue belom nonton :P

    iya biarpun item-putih tapi bisa keren gitu. jelas nggak cuma main komposisi, tapi juga hue dan efek2 lain.. hhhh gemessss

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  13. wah belom tuh. harus baca bukunya ya? :D

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  14. enggak harus sih :) tapi cukup membantu utk mengerti ceritanya yg padat dan cepat di versi animasi ini

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  15. duh, pengen banget nonton ini. pas di jiffest gak sempet nonton soalnya. kapan ya nyampe bioskop kita? kayaknya mending nunggu DVD-nya aja ya hehe..

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  16. nah ini, tipis harapan! (blitz mau muterin nggak ya?)
    sama2 nunggu dvd-nya aja deh kalo gitu.. :D

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  17. Starting point-nya hampir sama dengan aku... tapi pikiran itu hilang bahkan ketika baru masuk opening title scene.... Kuuull.

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  18. oooh.... wonderful!!!
    i will buy the book now, yes, now, and go buying the DVD too .. from amazon!!!
    update: aku dah beli nih.... buku2nya... tapi dvd belum direlease euy... ya sudah, nunggu screening atau dvd.. dulu2an deh...

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  19. idih mahal banget..... di amazon aja $10.36, kalo yg boxed set, $17.09 dua.. dan shipping fee gratis (di US sih)....

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  20. iya nih, biasanya blitz suka muterin film2 begini. mudah2an sih muterin hehe. :)

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  21. nah! tinggal nunggu nyampe dan dibaca! baru nyadar kalo aku belom pernah bikin resensi bukunya.. hihihiks.. (*colek ventong*: ven, dirimu kalo nggak salah bikin ya?)

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  22. haha benaar.. dari skeptikal langsung jadi optimis!
    oh sempet ke jiffest juga wkt itu? gue ama tiyas ketemu si putra di sana, nonton film yg sama..

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  23. cari kenalan orang blitz terus bombardir dengan request ini.. hihihi..

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  24. oya? gw nemu di gramedia matraman sebulan yg lalu...cuma satu dan manggil manggil gw...sayangnya gw pura-pura budek, karena bokek...hehehe...

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  25. Iye.. di sini. Dan ada komen elo di sono :D.

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  26. Nyesel bgt neh wkt diputer di Jiffest gak bs ntn hiksss..

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  27. Temen gue org Blitz ta tar gue teror yah hehe

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  28. haha coba! gue mau banget nonton lagi..

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  29. enggak. seorang teman berbaik hati kasih copy dari vcd yang dia dapat entah gimana caranya.

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