PERSEPOLIS
Having enjoyed the Persepolis books and heard good things about the movie version, I was very pleased when I finally to around to seeing it myself.
As you might know, the story revolves around a girl growing up in Iran and Austria. Partly because I was seated too close to the screen in one of the smaller (and poorly scaled for subtitles) theaters at the Empire AMC, I had trouble getting into the movie at first, but I was drawn in by the time the girl visits a relative held as a political prisoner in Iran. I cried, I laughed, I felt glad to be seeing this movie.
And now that I've finally seen Persepolis, I can fully appreciate the vast difference between this film and the other two nominees for the Oscar for Animated Film. Ratatouille and Surf's Up are utterly run-of-the-mill compared with the moving and relevant Persepolis, which also deserves recognition for Adapted Screenplay. No wonder why it has received so many plaudits from other sources.
Here's a teaser for the movie.
Source (00:47)
And here Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi talks about her goals.
Source (3:16)
Showing posts with label Persepolis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Persepolis. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
ART ABOUT TOWN. On Saturday I just managed to see the Roz Chast show, Theories of Everything II, which was at the Julie Saul Gallery. It was a small show but big on laughs--a pleasure!
Once I was in 535 West 22nd Street, I randomly sampled some of the other shows in the building. A standout was the Pia Fries show, Loschaug (at CRG Gallery through March 3). I was impressed by the artist's colorful and highly textured work, in which flat spaces contrast sharply with what the gallery calls "a rich and ever-expanding vocabulary of extrusions, dollops, and layered bands." You can view samples here.
Also in the building were paintings by Ian Davis (through March 10) at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks. They struck me as having an affinity with works in the Martin Ramírez show at the American Folk Art Museum (through April 29). I don't share Jerry Saltz's feeling that Ramírez ranks as one of the greats, but I'm glad I went to see the exhibition and I'm haunted by the story of Ramírez, a Mexican who came to the United States to earn money for his family, wound up homeless, and spent the rest of his life in institutions where he spent much of his time in silence, creating works that have been seized upon by collectors. (Having recently read the graphic novel Persepolis, I think author Marjane Satrapi might have come close to a similar fate during one of her spells in Europe.) If you go to the Ramírez show, make sure you see the panel-shaped work where there's a "hidden" image of an arm (I suspect it's key) and keep an eye peeled for images that resemble female genitalia. Also, if you know what the snake at the feet of the Madonnas might signify, please let me know!
Outside the Folk Art Museum, the sadistically timed midwinter night showings of Doug Aitken's Sleepwalkers have come to an end, but more of Aitken's works can be comfortably seen at 303 gallery (525 W. 22 Street) through March 3.
Once I was in 535 West 22nd Street, I randomly sampled some of the other shows in the building. A standout was the Pia Fries show, Loschaug (at CRG Gallery through March 3). I was impressed by the artist's colorful and highly textured work, in which flat spaces contrast sharply with what the gallery calls "a rich and ever-expanding vocabulary of extrusions, dollops, and layered bands." You can view samples here.
Also in the building were paintings by Ian Davis (through March 10) at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks. They struck me as having an affinity with works in the Martin Ramírez show at the American Folk Art Museum (through April 29). I don't share Jerry Saltz's feeling that Ramírez ranks as one of the greats, but I'm glad I went to see the exhibition and I'm haunted by the story of Ramírez, a Mexican who came to the United States to earn money for his family, wound up homeless, and spent the rest of his life in institutions where he spent much of his time in silence, creating works that have been seized upon by collectors. (Having recently read the graphic novel Persepolis, I think author Marjane Satrapi might have come close to a similar fate during one of her spells in Europe.) If you go to the Ramírez show, make sure you see the panel-shaped work where there's a "hidden" image of an arm (I suspect it's key) and keep an eye peeled for images that resemble female genitalia. Also, if you know what the snake at the feet of the Madonnas might signify, please let me know!
Outside the Folk Art Museum, the sadistically timed midwinter night showings of Doug Aitken's Sleepwalkers have come to an end, but more of Aitken's works can be comfortably seen at 303 gallery (525 W. 22 Street) through March 3.
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