Movie Review: Second Draft

Growing up I was never a fan of comic books or movies made from graphic novels so I was a little skeptical when I started watching Persepolis. One the film got rolling I was immediately captivated by Marjane’s wit and her story. As one critic, Peter Howell, points out many people think “shouldn’t cartoons be limited to light and happy topics?” That’s what we are taught as children! This movie proves that graphic novels turned into film can be a mature blend of charm, sorrow, and laughs.

            One thing that stood out to me was the way the movie started out in color, with Marjane as a grown woman. The director approached the plot as he looking back on her life and telling her story. I found this technique to be very effective in conveying the gravity of her tale. This flashback approach effectively grabs the viewer’s attention and sparks curiosity.

            Usually I am not a fan of subtitles but in this film I actually think they helped! Since you had to keep up reading them it really makes you focus on the movie and look for inflection in the actor’s voices to determine connotation and meaning.

            Some may argue that the film is very jumpy and chopped up from the transitions, however when going from a comic book to a film it seems inevitable. The breaking up of scenes is actually quite effective in showing her “flashbacks” throughout the film. While it is a tad jumpy, the film keeps you tuned in and doesn’t lose the viewer.

            Despite the gloom and intensity of Marjane’s story, Paronnaud managed to incorporate humor and a slight sense of lightheartedness. Marjane’s life experiences such as going to the concert, dating a man who turns out to be gay, and shopping for music tapes show a completely different side of life during this time. Despite all the war and death surrounding the main characters they still manage to find glee. In the graphic novel you can tell Marjane is a spunky little girl, but he plays it up and uses it as comic relief.

            McCloud describes that comics often use “amplification through simplification” (McCloud 30). The use of black and white in the movie in Marjane’s flashbacks is effective in showing how it was a time of darkness with some happiness, however she had not found herself quite yet. She was on her journey to find who she was. Paronnaud’s use of color when she is a grown woman in the airport is symbolic of her overcoming her hardships. The simple black and white coloring is powerful and effective in the film.

Overall I thought Persepolis was a fantastic film. It stayed true to the graphic novel. While it may seem a heavy subject there is still plenty of laughs to be found in the film. Even if you were never a comic book fan and think you may not enjoy a film made from one, you should see Persepolis and I bet you would change your mind.

 

Persepolis Movie Review

 

            After reading the graphic novel, I was a little skeptical as to how it would be changed into an interesting movie, however to my surprise Paronnaud successfully brought Marjane’s story to life. He did not stick to the graphic novel completely however he did derive a good majority.

            One thing that stood out to me was the way the movie started out in color, with Marjane as a grown woman. He approached the plot as he looking back on her life and telling her story. I found this technique to be very effective in conveying the gravity of her tale. She seems to be alive and doing well, but you can tell she has been through hard times. This flashback approach effectively grabs the viewer’s attention and sparks curiosity.

            Despite the gloom and intensity of Marjane’s story, Paronnaud managed to incorporate humor and a slight sense of lightheartedness. Marjane’s life experiences such as going to the concert, dating a man who turns out to be gay, and shopping for music tapes show a completely different side of life during this time. Despite all the war and death surrounding the main characters they still manage to find glee. In the graphic novel you can tell Marjane is a spunky little girl, but he plays it up and uses it as comic relief.

            The use of black and white in the movie in Marjane’s flashbacks is effective in showing how it was a time of darkness with some happiness, however she had not found herself quite yet. She was on her journey to find who she was. I think Paronnaud’s use of color when she is a grown woman in the airport is symbolic of her overcoming her hardships and growing into the woman she is.

            Overall I thought Persepolis was a fantastic film. It stayed true to the graphic novel, while only omitting a few things, and only added aspects that enhanced the film but did not alter the plot in any way. Marjane’s story was brought to life in a spectacular blend of sorrow and humor.

Spidey Review Comparisons

After reading both Gilchrist and Eberts reviews it is clear that the two critics have completely different views on Spiderman 2. 

Gilchrist did not like the movie at all. He focuses on the fact that he felt certain aspects of the movie were drawn on for too long. He did not seem to be entertained by this sequel, but rather bored. He goes as far to say that one particular scene "drags down the flow of the picture". While he does give the film some credit, he states he felt like it continued to repeat and dwell on information the audience already knew and to take jokes too far to the point that they weren't even funny anymore. Gilchrist states that the film had "glaring flaws" but he also says that "its a pretty great film." He admits earlier in his review that he had extremely high expectations for the movie, which may have skewed his opinion.

Eberts, on the other hand, found Spiderman 2 spectacular and has nothing but good things to say. At the very beginning he describes it as "the best superhero movie". The main focus of Eberts review is how he admires the way Raimi incorporated both the superhero action along with the human story aspect. He attributes this meshing of two ideals to the success of the film. The connotation of the words in his review are all very positive and he doesn't really mention anything he found wrong with it. Unlike Gilchrist, Eberts found the movie captivating. He describes Raimi's "masterpiece" as almost "effortless". 

Comparing the Comic to the Film

My overall impression is that the film did a very good job of staying true to the comic. Of course there are going to be differences because some things have to be changed or added when it was turned into a film but overall it seems to be pretty accurate. I really enjoyed watching it because it brought the graphic novel to life for me. 

I liked the way they kept it in black and white for the most part, and that the pictures were the same or at least very very similar. The parts that they took out were not pivotal moments, which sometimes happens, and did not effect the story-line that much. I do wish they included more about the young girls schooling and all the drama along with it. 

The character Marjane was really brought to life in the film. In the graphic novel you can tell she is a spunky little girl, however she is incredibly spunky and sassy in the film. She adds a bit of comic relief to the heavy topic. 

I think the makers of the film left out the part about her parents trip because it wasn't really necessary. However I liked that part and i wish they had added it! I found the part about hiding the posters very amusing and clever.

Overall I really liked the film and I'm looking forward to finishing it! 

Exercise #1

a. Scientists say that the groundwater in Ohio is clean.

b. A number of critics have applauded the authors work as being flawless. 

c. Many americas find football to be an exciting and entertaining past time.

d. As the world is evolving, many americans believe women are stepping it up in the classroom.

e. The review described the movie as an intense thriller keeping you on the edge of your seat and your hands over your eyes. 

f. The authors stress that giving templates does not disable one from expressing his/her individuality. 

McCloud does a lot of the whole they say I say thing when he is describing that a comic book is more than just a humorous part of the newspaper. He titles the chapter "Setting the Record Straight" and proceeds to argue against the common belief in the crudeness of comics. He takes what people thought comic books meant, and describes what they mean to him. He claims they "defined what comics could be to narrowly" and that really "the potential of comics is limitless and exciting! " 

I found this reading to be very interest. I admit, I did not know much about comics before reading this. I never really got into comics, I only read a couple ones from the sunday paper every once and a while. I will admit that before reading this I did think of comics as just short little silly pieces made solely for the purpose of making you laugh. After reading this I have a much different opinion of comics.

I had no idea that comics could be used in a professional manor. Comics is simply a medium. I am excited to read a comic that tells a story because I have never done that before. They layout of the piece we just read was really fun and easy to read, yet very informative. Actually I feel that comics could have more of an impact than straight paragraphs because they can be more easily remembered. 

I found the whole section about icons to be very interesting and so true. I liked how he described cartooning as "amplification through simplification". While it may come off that cartoons eliminate features, the author points out that its not eliminating it but rather amplifying specific features that make it unique or easily recognizable. I really liked this reading and its made me excited to read a story in comic form.