Films seen in January/February 2011

I’ve seen two films in these months, the first one on TV. Sadly good films are always broadcast rather late on the public channels. The second was seen in the cinema.

Persepolis is a gem of an autobiographical animated film. While it’s animation is not as technically impressive as Waltz with Bashir which I’ve seen before, it has a very distinctive style with it’s black and white colors, apparently chosen because of it being based on a graphic novel which is also black and white. What I like in this film are the vivid memories and honest depiction of the author’s early childhood. She depicts herself as full of imagination, having a godlike figure as her close personal friend, but also as impulsive, not yet knowing the distinction between good and evil. This made me remember some stuff I did during my time in preschool education I’m ashamed of now, such as pushing another kid who had my favorite toy in some thorned bushes so I could play. It’s sad to see that she had to leave Iran because she wanted to live freedom and had to abandon her family. I hope the Iranian people will seize the opportunity during this revolutionary wave in the Arab world to get rid of their repressive regime so that they too will be able to enjoy the freedoms and rights every human deserves.

It’s good that the western genre received some love with the release of True Grit. It’s not your typical western film though, it’s a bit like a western version of the film Winter’s Bone which I had seen a few months earlier. Nevertheless an original film which was well executed.

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