Adapted from Marjane Satrapi's (autobio)graphic novel of the same name, this French animated feature is both a rewarding history lesson and a beautiful rite-of-passage tale. It begins in France, where the grown-up Marjane (voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) is about to return to modern-day Iran to be reunited with her mother and father, and while waiting for her flight she recalls her days as a pre-teen terror, obsessed with Bruce Lee, communism and religion. These are the film's wonder years, as the exile of the Shah brings a momentary glimpse of freedom before strict Islamic law moves in to fill the gap, and the film deftly explores (and humanises) the regime that follows. The remainder of the film deals with Marjane's adolescent fallout, and though these scenes aren't quite as engaging as what has come before, it puts a final, personal signature on a stylish, innovative and very moving memoir.

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.