Persepolis *****

"Persepolis" is the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Iran, told in mostly black and white animation, beginning with her childhood under the Shah. This feature-length movie based on her graphic novel begins as we meet Marjane, a young woman with an Islamic headscarf at Orly airport, where she stops to sit and think, and smoke a cigarette. Clearly this young woman has a story, and we see it as she thinks back on her history.

Always a spirited child, Marjane ("Marji") was the favorite of her uncle, who was imprisoned under the Shah for his communist revolutionary activities, then freed by the revolution, and finally imprisoned again by the Islamic revolutionaries who grew more and more repressive after the initial elation of the revolution. It's an old story, from the Jacobins to Castro's Cuba, and perhaps calling the film "Persepolis," the sixth century B.C. capital of Cyrus and Darius the Great, instead of "Tehran," is meant to remind us to think long term, that no regime lasts forever.

The style of the film is comic-book spare; no life-like illusions here. The characters communicate with stance, pose, broad expression, and voice. The scene transitions can be quick cutting, or dreamily surreal. The compositions communicate the essense of the scene with economy, and the consistency of style makes it easy to settle into the rhythm of the movie.

The movie lives most vividly in the present, as the stages of Iran's revolution and war contrast with the coming of age of Marjane. Shipped off to a French school in Germany as a young teenager to save her from her own outspokenness, she gets a first-hand look at the rebellion of young European anarchists, who seem so shallow compared to real fighters like her uncle. When she exhausts her welcome and her tolerance, Marjane returns to Tehran a young woman ready to be serious about life and her studies. But what future is there for a free-thinking young woman in Iran? Her parents are supportive, and she gets wise counsel throughout her life from her worldly grandmother, but she must decide where she can live.

"Persepolis" is nominated for an Academy Award, but its story is so gripping, and its emotions so deep, that it does not seem to belong in the same class as "Surf's Up" or even "Ratatouille." It is a remarkable achievement.

Rated PG-13. 95 minutes. Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Produced by Xavier Rigault and Marc-Antoine Robert. Distributed in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics. Voices by Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, and Simon Abkarian. In French with English subtitles.