Based on the popular graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, the animated film, Persepolis, works like a memoir, recounting the tale of a young girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

The animation, while original and interesting at first, begins to feel stagnant as the movie progresses.

The story works well mostly for those who know little about the situation that occurred in Iran as the fundamentalists took power. Otherwise, a lot of the story watches like “Iran for Dummies.”

Writer/director Satrapi would have served her audience better by trusting them to grasp the politics and serving up a little more in the way of personal narrative.

Grade: B-

Persepolis is currently available.