THERE have been some belting film adaptations of graphic novels lately, but you'll see precious few naked Spartans and emasculated yellow villains in Persepolis.

Taking its name from the ancient Persian city in the north of Iran, Persepolis is an ani-mated autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, whose childhood spanned the Iranian revolution in 1979 the subsequent rise of the country as an Islamist republic and through the war with Iraq.

It's not a tale of candy floss and daisy chains.

But although Satrapi's tale is pockmarked with dark mom-ents, they are illustrated beautifully and, particularly early on, highlight the poignancy of a child's simplistic view.