Persepolis

It's not very often you see movies that combines the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a group of Austrian nihilists and even heavy metal band Iron Maiden into one cohesive storyline. But then it's not very often that a movie like "Persepolis" comes along. The film, a motion picture adaptation of writer-director Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name is a moving, coming-of-age tale that ranks among the best animated films of 2007, if not ever.

Initially, Satrapi had broken up her life story into two volumes, "Persepolis" and "Persepolis 2" but here, the two are combined into one feature. We see her earliest days as a child living in Iran under the Pahlavi dynasty and the subsequent turmoil that leads to a revolution and, well, more turmoil. Protests left and right, an explosion that nearly kills her family, it's all part of life growing up for Satrapi.

Along the way, we meet a diverse cast of characters that each wind up shaping her story. Whether it's her loving parents, voiced by Sean Penn and Catherine Deneuve, who strike the fine balance between strict parenting and unconditional support, or her revolutionary uncle Anoosh (played by Iggy Pop, yes, you read correctly), each one has an impact on Marjane, be it through inspiring her political activism or through sending her to Vienna to escape the strife in war-torn Iran.

What starts as a series of revolts against the second and last ruler in the Pahlavi dynasty, Muhammad Reza Shah, quickly turns into post-revolution conflicts with neighboring Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War, which dominated much of the 1980s. The crisis may change, but the emotional impact is steadfast throughout.

One cannot help but admire Satrapi not just for having come of age, but also for having done so in such a turbulent period in her country's history. Whether as a child in Iran or as a teenager in Vienna, she maintains throughout any ordeal an underlying sense of self. As a result, she proves to be an incredibly sympathetic protagonist.

Were it not for the Pixar juggernaut that dominates the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy every year, "Persepolis" would have received much more attention. As it stands, it remains a fine, yet criminally unknown, piece of cinema and art. One can only hope, assuming the tension between the U.S. and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's modern Iran continues to mount, that it will someday come to our attention once again.