Reaction to the film...

I have been enjoying the film version of Persepolis. I like how the film begins in color, then when it traces back to past events, they are in black and white. I appreciate the film version; however, as usual I feel the novel is better than the film. I think the only reason I enjoyed the novel more was because it was more detailed. I predicted that the film would not include certain events, but this film tends to not follow the novel closely at all. Events are out of order which is fine, but the fact it completely excludes a great deal of material upsets me.

 In the film, many scenes from the graphic novel are left out. One of my favorite chapters in the book which the film did not include was the tragic love story between the maid and the boy across the street. They could never be together because of their difference in social class. The maid was not even in the film. I felt there were many details in the graphic novel that were important for telling the story of Marji’s life. Regardless of the movie’s exclusion of many scenes, the animation is identical to the novel which is a plus. I guess the film could be seen as a preview to the novel.