Just when I thought the future of animation was doomed to shiny blobular CGI faux-realism comes this masterpiece. It’s the semi-autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, a rebellious young woman growing up amidst Iranian social turmoil. I hesitated in seeing the film, expecting it to be overly political and difficult to grasp contextually as an American. To my surprise the polemics are only the backdrop to a touching coming-of-age story that any outsider can appreciate.

Marjane’s development from a happy and care-free child to a troubled teenager is punctuated by the sudden rise of violent fundamentalism and tragedies of war. Despite her opressive surroundings she experiments in self-expression and sexuality — dangerous choices under the Shah’s regime. Her liberal family doesn’t wish to stifle her, but does send Marjane to France for her safety and to settle down a bit. Completing the family is Marjane’s progressive grandmother who teaches her to preserve her integrity above all else. The moments when Marjane fails her grandmother’s expectations are as painful as the senseless losses of friends and relatives. But the film does have its joyful and funny moments. A favorite is when Marjane seems at the end of her rope and yanks herself back into shape to a very off-kilter version of “Eye of the Tiger.” It’s just one of several unexpectedly uplifting scenes.

The story is deep and emotionally vibrant, in no small part due to the fantastic hand-drawn animation. The mostly black and white 2-D style builds upon its comic book origins. Simply drawn characters contrast with rich magnificent backgrounds, but that’s not to say the characters aren’t effective. They sometimes resemble the line work of Charles Schulz, sharing his power to convey strong personalities through minimal details. It’s a refreshing jolt of humanity in an almost-abandoned medium. I’ll eagerly return to it again and again.

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