Persepolis's ultra-simplistic art style with its limited colour palette and neat lines works not only as a nod back to Marjane Satrapi's source graphic novel, but also as a visual metaphor for the universal aspect of the story being told. Co-directed by Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, Persepolis is an altogether different kind of movie about self-discovery than those found in most mainstream animated movies. Away from myths and legends, this is rooted in the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a younger, autobiographical version of Satrapi begins to explore new cultures against the backdrop of political turmoil. Persepolis is the kind of movie which can only be made as an act of remembering; a personal work in which the intimacy of the filmmaker's recollections and experiences give it its backbone. Unsurprisingly, with its lean towards a liberal, Westernized take on aspects of culture, the film was condemned in some circles for going against the tenets of Islam.
