--- title: "Persepolis" year: 2007 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/persepolis" fi1m_id: "persepolis" imdb_id: "tt0808417" tmdb_id: 2011 wikidata_id: "Q477965" fi1m_score: 87 critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:02.408224+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Persepolis (2007) Directed by Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi · 1h 35m · MPA PG-13 · Animation, Drama ## Identity Persepolis - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/persepolis - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** persepolis - **IMDb ID:** tt0808417 - **TMDB ID:** 2011 - **Wikidata ID:** Q477965 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2011, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q477965 **Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 81 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Growing up is difficult enough without a government insisting on supervising > Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud make growing up amid political upheaval funny, painful and personal. The episodes sometimes pass too quickly, but the expressive drawings and the family’s warmth make this an easy film to recommend. ## Synopsis Marjane grows up in Iran as revolution and war change the country around her. Her family helps her make sense of events, while her own opinions and the demands of growing up complicate what she learns from the adults. The animated story draws on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoirs, following political upheaval through a child’s developing understanding. Gabrielle Lopes Benites voices the young Marjane, with Chiara Mastroianni as Marjane, Catherine Deneuve and Simon Abkarian as her parents, and Danielle Darrieux as her grandmother. ## Review *Persepolis* is a funny, painful account of growing up that makes room for politics without treating its young heroine as a lesson. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud adapt Satrapi’s graphic memoirs with a firm understanding of how much a face drawn in a few strokes can tell us. We recommend it warmly, with a reservation about how quickly some episodes pass. Its chief strength is allowing Marjane to be contradictory, including when a more flattering account would make her easier to approve of. Revolution and war in Iran are seen through a child whose understanding of the world is still forming. Satrapi and Paronnaud give the political history enough space to be understood, but the family remains the reason to care about it. That choice keeps the film from turning into an illustrated lecture, though the compression can make the historical passages feel hurried. Marjane has her own problems, and being surrounded by greater suffering does not automatically teach her proportion. The black-and-white drawings have soft edges, and the charcoal backgrounds avoid the harshness we might expect from such a restricted palette. Zaza’s production design leaves the faces easy to read, which matters when so much depends on a small change of expression. The animation borrows the blunt shapes of political posters, then allows them to move with the flexibility of a cartoon. It is an expressive way to draw a child, giving Marjane room to look foolish or bewildered without making her seem less capable of feeling pain. Gabrielle Lopes Benites voices the young Marjane, while Chiara Mastroianni gives the older voice enough personality to keep the historical account from sounding like a lesson being recited. Catherine Deneuve and Simon Abkarian, voicing her mother and father, help the family feel like people with their own worries. Danielle Darrieux is especially good as the grandmother, affectionate without sounding appointed to dispense wisdom. We were moved by the warmth in her voice; it makes the family’s closeness matter more than any explanation of why it should. Stéphane Roche’s editing keeps the episodes moving, but it also leaves some of them feeling too brief. At 95 minutes, the film has plenty to accommodate, and there are points where another change in Marjane’s circumstances arrives before the previous one has settled. The abruptness is understandable in a remembered life; it is still a limitation in a drama. Olivier Bernet’s music helps the shifts between comedy and distress feel less abrupt, though it cannot give those shorter passages the time they need. Against the habits of the coming-of-age film, Satrapi and Paronnaud’s willingness to laugh at their heroine is particularly welcome. Every youthful embarrassment need not prove that a remarkable adult was waiting to emerge, and Marjane is allowed to be awkward without immediately learning something useful. The self-deprecating humour keeps her company bearable through a story that could easily become solemn about its own importance. We can care about what happens to her without having to approve of everything she thinks. See it for the humour and the family, with patience for the occasional episode that ends too soon. *Fi1m score 87, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Persepolis, with praise centred on its black-and-white animation and the way Marjane Satrapi’s personal story makes political upheaval understandable through family life and growing up. The reviews repeatedly admire the adaptation’s fidelity to the graphic novels without treating that faithfulness as a limit on its inventiveness. They also value its wit, self-deprecation and emotional honesty, finding that the humour allows room for suffering without making the protagonist merely a symbol of it. The reservations concern structure and, more unusually, the animation itself. Screen Daily finds the episodic storytelling a drawback, despite admiring the adaptation’s look and irony. The Hollywood Reporter offers the clearest dissent on the visuals, finding them short of individuality and vitality while judging the politics more compelling. Enthusiasm otherwise ranges from measured approval to emphatic praise, with little disagreement about the value of approaching Iranian history through an individual life. ## Straight answers **Is Persepolis worth watching?** *Persepolis* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a coming-of-age story with humour and a political setting, and we scored it 87. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud let their heroine be awkward and contradictory, and the family, especially Danielle Darrieux’s grandmother, gives the history a reason to matter. Some episodes end before they have settled. **How long is Persepolis, and what is it rated?** *Persepolis* runs 1h 35m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an animation and drama film. **Where can I watch Persepolis in the US?** *Persepolis* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Persepolis, and is it suitable for children?** *Persepolis* carries a UK 12 certificate, and its account of revolution and war in Iran includes distress that younger children may find hard to follow or upsetting. The black-and-white drawings soften what is shown, and the film moves between comedy and pain rather than dwelling on horror. Teenagers and older children should manage it comfortably. **How does Persepolis compare to The Breadwinner?** *Persepolis* and [*The Breadwinner*](https://film.one/film/the-breadwinner-2017) both watch repression through a child’s eyes, but *Persepolis* is the funnier and more personal of the two, told as remembered life with a family at its centre. *The Breadwinner* is more frightening and more immediate about daily survival, though its shifts into fantasy interrupt it. Choose *Persepolis* for warmth and humour; *The Breadwinner* for tension. **What should I watch after Persepolis?** After *Persepolis*, try [*The Breadwinner*](https://film.one/film/the-breadwinner-2017) (2017, Fi1m 84): Another child’s view of repression, with animation keeping daily life in focus. Then [*Flee*](https://film.one/film/flee) (2021, Fi1m 83): Animation gives a personal account of displacement room for uncertainty and remembered feeling; and [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) (1973, Fi1m 87): A child’s partial understanding makes adult politics more unsettling, and more intimate. ### Reviews we read (17) - **Little White Lies**, Matt Bochenski (4/5/5): The critic praises the film as a humane and heartfelt work executed with sublime skill, calling it a stunning example of the art form. They single out the originality, creativity and risk-taking that elevate animation beyond family entertainment. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/persepolis) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): Ebert praises the film as a deeply personal and stylish coming-of-age story about Marjane that stands out for its intelligence and emotional depth compared to typical animated fare. He highlights its careful, loving telling of her life amid political upheaval and personal growth. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/persepolis-2008) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (A-): The review praises the film's translation of the graphic novel's spirit into animation, noting its mix of political posters and whimsical cartoon style while capturing personal contradictions and the relativity of strife. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/persepolis-1798203690) - **Slant Magazine** (3.5/4): The critic lauds the clean, fluid hand-drawn animation and its ability to capture sentiments visually through multicultural influences and stylistic nods, calling it a marvelously emotive work rooted in brutal honesty. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/persepolis/) - **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (4/5): The review highlights the film's distinctive soft black-and-white drawings and charcoal backgrounds as its standout feature. It describes the result as a delightful, curious film that blends the personal and political while providing a potted history of modern Iran. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/persepolis-1) - **IndieWire**, Kristi Mitsuda (70/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's design and visual approach as a strength in adapting the graphic novel's personal and political story. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-design-for-living-marjane-satrapi-and-vincent-paronnauds-persepolis-73336/) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation remarkably faithful to the graphic novels' spirit and look, with its episodic structure as the main drawback. They single out the vein of irony and self-deprecatory humour as one of its charms. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/animation/persepolis/4032827.article) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Kirk Honeycutt (50/100, inferred): The review finds the film's politics more compelling than its art, noting the plain black-and-white animation fails to convey much individuality or vitality. It praises how animation makes the personal story universally relatable rather than exotic. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/persepolis-159083/) - **Empire**, Helen O'Hara: The critic praises the film's personal, autobiographical approach to complex Iranian history and politics through a child's eyes, noting its stark monochrome animation and emotional depth as a coming-of-age story that balances humor and tragedy. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/persepolis-review/) - **Evening Standard**: The critic calls it an extraordinary, witty and ironic portrait of growing up amid historical upheaval, praising the two-dimensional animation for adding character and the film's accurate depiction of youthful resilience against repression. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/out-from-under-the-veil-7405945.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic calls the film a gripping, witty and sympathetic adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels. He singles out its superbly elegant and simple black-and-white animation style for praise, noting how it faithfully reproduces the source material with bold strokes and witty expressions. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/apr/25/animation.drama) - **The Independent**: The review highlights the stark and beautiful animation in this coming-of-age story set against war and revolution in Iran, commending its focus on family and people over pure politics while blending humor and tragedy with a rare sense of real history. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/music-film/review-persepolis-945698.html) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (Critic's Pick): Scott calls the film a simple story told by simple means that unfolds with grace, intelligence and charm, reminding viewers that animation is rooted in bringing images to life. He singles out its flat, stylized depiction of Tehran and Vienna that turns geography into poetry and its expression of the imagination's resistance to literal-minded power. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/movies/25pers.html) - **Paste**, Jesse Jarnow (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a tender animated adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir that finds black humor in totalitarianism and renders the stark illustrations into rich black-and-white visuals. It is praised for its charismatic lead character and refusal to see anything in simple black-and-white terms. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/marjane-satrapi/persepolis) - **Eye for Film**, Anton Bitel: The critic praises the film's rare aesthetic beauty in black-and-white animation and its sharp, pacy storytelling that blends personal memoir with political history. The review highlights the smart, self-deprecating protagonist-narrator and the bittersweet focus on loss and exile. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/persepolis-film-review-by-anton-bitel) - **/Film**, BJ Colangelo: The critic celebrates the film's animation style matching the graphic novel and its balance of heartbreak, power, and sardonic humor in depicting a rebellious teen's life amid revolution and oppression. It singles out the relatable protagonist and the film's value in offering Western audiences an authentic, non-stereotypical view of Iranian experience. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1110122/persepolis-uses-animation-to-tell-a-coming-of-age-story-in-the-midst-of-iranian-revolution/) - **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez ([A]): The review calls the film wonderful, charming, funny, and heartbreaking, praising its unique coming-of-age story that explores tyranny, oppression, and universal themes of growing up female. It notes the Grand Jury Prize win at Cannes and recommends it highly despite a potentially hard sell. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/nyff-review-persepolis-is-another-20070925/) ## Details - **Director:** Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi - **Director:** Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi - **Screenplay:** Vincent Paronnaud - **Writer:** Vincent Paronnaud - **Story:** Marjane Satrapi - **Editor:** Stéphane Roche - **Music:** Olivier Bernet - **Production design:** Zaza - **Producer:** Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault - **Cast:** Chiara Mastroianni as Marjane (voice); Danielle Darrieux as Marjane's Grandmother (voice); Catherine Deneuve as Marjane's Mother (voice); Simon Abkarian as Marjane's Father (voice); Gabrielle Lopes Benites as Young Marjane (voice); François Jérosme as Uncle Anouche (voice); Tilly Mandelbrot as Lali (voice); Sophie Arthuys as Walla (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 35m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 22 February 2008 - **Genres:** Animation, Drama - **Budget:** $7 million - **Box office:** $23 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr-ffssDVgI ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, ES, FR, GB, IE, IT, MX, NZ, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2008: Best Animated Feature (nominated) - International Submission to the Academy Awards 2008: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) - Annie Award for Best Animated Feature 2007: Annie Award for Best Animated Feature (nominated) - Critics' Choice Awards 2007: Best Animated Feature (nominated) - European Film Award for Best Film 2007: European Film Award for Best Film (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Breadwinner* (2017), Fi1m 84: Another child’s view of repression, with animation keeping daily life in focus — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-breadwinner-2017.md) - *Flee* (2021), Fi1m 83: Animation gives a personal account of displacement room for uncertainty and remembered feeling — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/flee.md) - *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s partial understanding makes adult politics more unsettling, and more intimate — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md) - *Wadjda* (2012), Fi1m 80: A girl’s ordinary wishes expose the restrictions adults have learned to accept — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wadjda.md) - *The 400 Blows* (1959), Fi1m 91: A difficult child gets the attention and sympathy that adults keep withholding — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/persepolis