Don’t judge a (comic) book by its cover. The illustrations in Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical tale about growing up during the Iranian Revolution may be simply drawn in stark monochrome, but they channel a breathtaking moral and political complexity. Translated to the screen with stupendous results, this is an animated movie that checks the talking farmyard animals and dancing penguins at the door, in favour of detailing the slow erosion of freedom under Iran’s theocracy.

Sounds worthy and dull? Forget it. Energetically co-directed by Satrapi and comics artist Vincent Paronnaud, Persepolis is brimful of humour, charm and grace. Set between 1978 and 1992 – when the Ayatollah Khomeini deposed the Shah and religious fundamentalism reared its head – the story follows Bruce Lee-obsessed ankle-biter Marjane as she grows into adolescence and eventual, liberated adulthood. While the country’s in the throes of a repressive revolution, Marjane’s aiming for personal rebellion: headbanging to Iron Maiden, wearing make-up and outfoxing the women-hating police whenever possible.

Distilling politics into the personal, Persepolis filters a nation’s upheaval through the viewpoint of a growing girl who’s struggling to find herself in a world that’s lost itself. Yet for all the tragedy, it’s full of life. One minute it’s recreating Godzilla in ’toon form, the next showcasing characters like Marjane’s feisty grandmother, a woman with a burning fire in her belly. When it snaffled the jury prize in Cannes last years, Iran’s mullah denounced Persepolis as an attempt at “sabotage”... High praise, indeed.

DVD Extras: Making Of
Interviews
Deleted scenes
Short film