Bechdel Test Movie List

The blog which is linked to appears to have disappeared and been replaced with spam. The Internet Archive preserved the original review, which I will attempt to copy-paste here.

*This is probably one of the best movies ever. Of course I'm going to spoil it.

Marjane Satrapi has said that the reason she chose a black-and-white animated style to convey the story of Persepolis because it erased the relatable context of the film, citing that many people would just dismiss it as just another Middle Eastern movie. Instead, this film emerges as the portrait of a young woman coming of age in a country where a female's coming of age has been rendered impossible.

The movie is the memories of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian comic memoir-ist who came of age during the Iranian Revolution, the reinstatement of Islam fundamentalism and the subsequent war between Iraq and Iran. She grows up in this harsh environment surrounded by a protective coccoon of family, in a world where the veil really is law and window washers can become heads of state because of religious belief. After tragedy strikes too close to home, Marjane's parents send her to Vienna, where after a couple of years of loneliness and soul-searching, she returns to Iran to attend university. The film ends with her leaving Iran again, too cloistered by its fundamentalist practices and is forbidden by her mother to return.

The authenticity of this movie is what captures its audience so grippingly. Marjane is a completely earnest heroine, getting into hijinks and misadventures just like any child. One can can easily admire her personality--there are memorable scenes where she combats the forces of "sit down and shut up" versions of tyrannical rule. But she makes mistakes too--she can be selfish and unable to see the big picture of what this means to her country. However, since we see her age from four year old to twenty-two year old, the audience is granted a rare insight into a fictional character, and one can sense that Satrapi isn't leaving a single stone unturned.

While the movie does diverge from the books (skipping over parts, but never changing them), the element of family relationships crosses from comic to screen effortlessly. Marjane's mother and grandmother are figures of very honest strength and vulnerability. It's the mother that decides Marjane should get as far away from Iran as possible, fearing for her daughter's future in the eyes of Islamic fundamentalism. And it's the grandmother who cuts Marjane down to size in a moment of supposed-survivalism.

At any rate, Persepolis passes the Bechdel test with flying colors and should be seen by any girl (or boy) looking for one of the most authentic coming of age stories in a long, long time. The animation is gorgeous as well as the intricate plot line.

This movie details the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War, from a growing Iranian woman's perspective. The movie's main motive to detail the life of many under the regime and war. Although men and love are talked about and involved, they take up a very small portion of the plot.