Persepolis

Persepolis (Persian City) is a very entertaining film based on an autobiographical graphic novel written by the co-director of this film, Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian who grew up in the late 70s in Iran. The film traces about 20 years of Marjane's life from the beginning in Iran with the ruling Shahs, their downfall, the Iran-Iraq war, her stay in Vienna and then life back in Iran under the religious mullahs and then finally her departure to Paris.

Shot in slick, dark, powerful animation, the film starts of bright and brilliant with a young Marjane living with her parents under the rule of the Shahs. She is a fiesty young girl, curious and determined. She is a joy to watch and you root for her cause. Her narrative is smooth and appropriate as she leads you through the various different incidences that start to change her wonderful life into something quite different as the revolutionaries take over.

As the heroine grows up and out the film starts to lose some of its grip. With Marjane, the film seems to sink into some depression as well. The politics that rends Marjane's life also blunts the appeal of the film a bit and at times, in Marjane's dislocation, it looks pretty much like your routine immigration experience film. However, the film's politics is very clear in its belief that politics basically sucks.

Marjane is ultimately the classical modern immigrant: one who is as lost in their own culture as they are in the new one they try to flee in to.

Woman on top

This movie is about a Brazilian girl who has the gift of cooking exotic dishes that have mesmerizing effects. She comes to San Fransisco searching for something new after a problem with her husband. She ends up becoming the ravishing hostess of a food show on TV.

Highlight of the movie is the extraordinary music. Unbelievably good tunes from South America. Ms. Cruz is good but does not look too involved. I think she is overrated as an actress and proves it in this movie.

There is a lot of magic happening in the movie which keeps things interesting. There isn't enough story to go about. And one hopes against odds that one wouldn't see the cliche of her being disillusioned with the big media. But alas the movie is just not upto the task enough.