8. Persepolis (2007)
Sony Pictures ClassicsPersepolis most definitely isn't your average comic book movie; Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution was adapted by French filmmaker Vincent Paronnaud and offered an emotionally powerful and visually striking animation, one that was named co-winner of the Cannes Jury Prize and scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. With Satrapi co-writing and co-directing the feature-length adaptation, Persepolis retains its intensely personal nature. The low-key style of the animation is lifted straight from the source material and serves as an ingenious narrative tool to present a complex story in a simple visual style, giving the movie a timeless quality. Tracing her journey from Iran to Austria and back again, Satrapi makes for an appealing protagonist as we trace her journey from an innocuous child to more cynical adult, wrestling with the balance between home and freedom and a future that will always be shaped by her past.