“Persepolis,” the graphic novel and film about her youth during the coup in 1979, when the mullahs replaced the Shah’s regime, made Iranian Marjane Satrapi famous around the world. Now her tragicomedy “Paris Paradise” is coming to the cinema. In it, an opera diva is accidentally declared dead, a teenager is kidnapped just before jumping off a bridge, and a grandmother negotiates with God about life and death.
Ms. Satrapi, what do you associate with Paris? Paradise, perhaps?
Paris is definitely my paradise. Because it was in Paris that my true freedom began. It is the city that I love, that inspires me and that is so beautiful that after 30 years here I still can’t believe that I actually have the right to live in this city.
Parisians like to complain, nag and moan – but not you. What do you love about your adopted home?
The essence of the city is international. For me, Paris is the perfect example of how multiculturalism actually works. People often say that the USA is so easy. But to do that, you have to become American! Even if you are the finest piece of fillet, you have to be shredded first – only a burger counts there.
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Nobody asks you to give up your identity here. You just adopt your French identity. Cultural assimilation is much easier in Paris than in New York. In my family in the USA, the second generation hardly speaks any Persian anymore, but here all the children speak Farsi well and even write it. And that’s the case with all nationalities. Here you can still speak your parents’ languages and have your own culture, and people will still be interested in you.
Do you have a political agenda?
Not explicitly. But when it comes to the social mix, you often hear, oh, all those Muslims, all those people from the banlieues, they’re going to cut off our heads . . . In Paris, the different social classes also have a relationship with each other. Just like we speak the same language with different accents. My husband is Swedish and we speak French. All of that is possible here.
And this despite the fact that France narrowly avoided a Rassemblement National government in the elections?
But they didn’t manage it! Politicians always evade the issue carefully and talk about “the poor disadvantaged”. I can speak plainly: right-wing extremist voters are idiots. When people voted for right-wing extremism in the 1930s, they could still excuse it by saying they were ignorant. But now? As soon as you live here, you know what happened on this continent. Germany is often blamed for the main problem, but the Vichy regime was really hardcore! They murdered and slaughtered before the Germans asked them to. Voting for the far-right is the voice of hatred, racism, and cowardice. But while the whole of France voted for the RN with more than 30 percent, in Paris it was a mere seven percent. And seven percent are idiots, we know that every society needs them.
Your tragicomedy has a central theme in its three episodes: death. Why?
Death is the common denominator of all people. The fact that we all die should be reason enough not to wage war. Even the people you hate the most will die of their own accord. Why make this short, miserable life even shorter and more miserable? The only meaningful way to live is to celebrate life. After all, four billion years of evolution have led to us living, having consciousness and discovering mathematics, which puts the apparent chaos of nature into formulas.
The actress Monica Bellucci as an opera diva in the film “Paris Paradise”.Studiocanal
How do you deal with the knowledge of finiteness? Do you negotiate this with God, like one of your characters?
Yes, that’s usually how it is. I talk to him and make deals: “God, give me this and take that away from me. I’ll give you 15 years of my life if you take the bad man away from my sister.” To make my wish come true, I promise to give up drinking or smoking. When everything is OK again, I carry on smoking.
Do you have such a relaxed attitude towards death?
I’m not relaxed at all, I’m panicking! I’m so afraid of losing everyone I love that I’d either have to shoot myself – or laugh about it. Especially because I’m still “a child of” myself. I’m not afraid of my own death. When I’m dead, I don’t know that I’m dead. So my death is null and void. It’s always the death of others. But I’m obsessed with that!
Is there a bit of you in the character of the pathetic opera diva that Monica Bellucci so skillfully portrays?
Yes, yes! I tend to feel a little too sorry for myself and have a very, very, very melodramatic side.
A self-confessed diva.
Many people think that I am, but that’s not true. I just don’t like meeting people. Every time I’m invited, I have a dilemma: I want to be invited to parties, but I don’t want to go. But if I don’t go, they won’t invite me anymore and I’ll be lonely. So I say yes. Recently a party was cancelled at short notice and I felt like I’d won the lottery. Socializing and small talk are torture for me. I don’t know what to say and I’m quiet. And that’s why many people think I’m a prima donna.
In “Paris Paradise,” there is only a tiny trace of your Iranian identity, when a psychiatrist casually mentions his Persian grandmother . . .
Yes, because my grandmother liked to say that: “Dear God, if you won’t let me be rich, at least let me be stupid so that I can enjoy life a little.” I’ve talked so much about my origins that there was no need to say more. I lived in Iran for 18 years and soon 35 outside of it. With “Persepolis” and “Chicken with Plums” I’ve said it all.
Does the expectation that you should deal with Iranian subjects irritate you?
Recently I was asked if I would make a film about the protest movement. The answer: I haven’t been to Iran for 25 years. I’m certainly not going to make a film about a 20-year-old who is on social media or Instagram and is concerned with things I know nothing about. If I can return to Iran one day, I can make another film about it. But if I wanted to make headlines and cause a stir with this topic now, I would be such an opportunist!
How are you involved in the freedom movement “Woman, Life, Freedom”?
Very strong. These young girls on the street, with their lion-like courage, are so modern and progressive! They have clear ideas about democracy and demand secularism. It makes my heart sing. I wish this movement had taken place when I was 20 years old. Then I would never have left the country, but would have joined the fight. But society wasn’t ready back then.
What makes you so sure?
The last time I was in Tehran, I was looking for a taxi, a shared taxi, and when one finally stopped, a man suddenly rushed forward and tried to snatch it away from me. I said: “Sir, it’s my turn, you came after me.” He said: “I’m a man. I have work to do. So I’ll go first.” He had a thick moustache. I replied: “And I’m a woman and I’m shitting in your beard. If you don’t leave right away, I’ll punch you too.”
This text comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
A graphic novel of yours entitled “Woman, Life, Freedom” was published in Germany last year. A tribute?
Yes, because a feminist movement like this would do the whole world good, everywhere where women are treated as second-class citizens. Without real equality, no society will ever be completely democratic and truly free. You can see that in Trump. He is an enemy of democracy. Because what he attacks first are women’s rights, their right to abortion.
Do you still have hope that democracy will prevail in Iran at some point?
I even have great hopes for the future of Iran. The people there are fighting every day, a strike here, a strike there. And on the day of Ashura . . .
. . . the highest day of mourning for the Shiites, in memory of the martyrdom of Hussein . . .
. . . girls even went without headscarves, in the middle of the religious processions of men who were mortifying themselves. There is only one thing more beautiful than freedom: the fight for freedom.
How do you achieve freedom?
Evolution instead of revolution. You cannot create democracy by bombing a country. That is not how it works. There must first be cultural development: people must be ready for democracy. They must say: as a woman I have the right to dress as I want, I want to express my ideas and I am prepared to die for it. I will not live like a slave. Until that happens, a country may look modern, but deep down it is conservative and corrupt. The only problem is: a revolution happens quickly. But evolution takes time. A good education takes 20 years. That seems long to us, but in the scale of history it is nothing.
