Persepolis

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

Marjane Satrapi (along with co-director/co-writer Vincent Paronnaud) brings her acclaimed, autobiographical graphic novels to the screen in this evocative memoir in the form of an animated feature. Unfolding as a flashback framed by her voluntary yet painful exile from her home, Satrapi shares the events of coming of age in Iran in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution. We share her evolving, maturing perspective from a little girl who adores Bruce Lee to a rebellious adolescent who rocks out to Iron Maiden to an empowered young woman (voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) whose artistic ambitions and personal desires are constrained under the oppressive laws of her country. Richly imagined and painfully honest, it's an uncompromising look at the culture of Iran as seen by an observant and open-minded child of Iran and rock 'n' roll, and a frank exploration of adolescence and identity (not to mention being female) in a world of intolerance, told not with anger but disappointment, at what has become of her country and its proud and ancient culture.

It's such a pleasant surprise to see this title, a foreign-language animated film with a monochrome palette, arrive in the Blu-ray format, which is so often reserved for big-budget spectacles and innocuous box-office hits. The image quality is gorgeous and the pop-up Blu-ray menus are nicely designed and easy to navigate. You can view the film in both the original French language soundtrack (with English subtitles) and an excellent English language soundtrack supervised by Satrapi and featuring Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands and Iggy Pop. Supplements include the 30-minute "The Hidden Side of Persepolis," a comprehensive French-language documentary that goes deep behind the scenes, and the much shorter English-language featurette "Behind the Scenes of Persepolis." Also features the multilingual "2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference," commentary on three brief scenes (including creator Satrapi on the opening scene and actress Mastroianni explaining her off-key performance of "Eye of the Tiger"), and animated storyboards with commentary (in French) by Satrapi. Also available on standard DVD.