December 3, 2024
FILM: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
DIRECTED BY: MOHAMMAD RASOULOF
STARRING: MISSAGH ZAREH, SOHELIA GOLESTANI, MAHSA ROSTAMI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
At the start of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Iman receives a job promotion as an investigator in Tehran. We don’t know all of the details surrounding what he does but this is definitely a higher profile position, somewhere in the government, which will then require his wife Najmeh and their two daughters, Rezvan and Sana, to be put under heavier protection. As part of this new role, he is given a gun which goes missing within their home. Fear and paranoia set in and everyone in the family is under suspicion.
The film was shot secretly by Mohammad Rasoulof, an Iranian director, who was sentenced to eight years in prison while it was being made. He then escaped to Europe and was present when the film won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It is now considered a leading contender for the Best International Feature Oscar. Of course, given the country’s view of the director and his film, it is not Iran’s submission. Rather it is Germany’s entry this year, in part due to its assistance in funding the film.
It’s not hard to imagine why the director would be so controversial in his home country. This film blasts the government and pulls in the perspective of the younger generation with numerous social media clips of the various protests and riots that occurred in the country within the last few years. Rasoulof is clearly on the side of women who have fought against the government and its stance on women’s rights. While this is a fictional story about something that has been very real in Iran, what’s most interesting is how this situation affects the individual members of the family as they hear the cries of “down with the dictator” and “down with theocracy” during the riots.
While Najmeh tries to balance the needs of Iman to protect the family with the girls’ more modern sensibilities, Rezvan has a college friend who is seriously injured during a major protest. When she brings her home, Najmeh doesn’t want to endanger the family but takes it upon herself to tend to the girl’s wounds. If not, the girl would be arrested. Yet Najmeh is also trying to stay true to Iman’s needs for the family to stay out of the spotlight, both outside and on social media. The girls, like a lot of young people, spend much of their time on their phones, which provide a more accurate picture of the reality outside. This signals a major cultural change in the country which also threatens its status quo. The girls are told not to question what is told but their response is, “what if what we’re told is wrong?”
It is these conflicting ideas about the present state of the country that makes the film particularly interesting and very relevant to Iran’s continued internal social and political issues. The film is filled with people keeping secrets, whispering, and harboring lies which suggests the amount of hidden truths within the culture. Yet the girls, being a part of a younger generation that has clearly been influenced by Western thought, have an English sign hanging in their bedroom reading “Don’t Give Up.” This becomes a major theme for them throughout the rest of the film. Both of them stand pretty firmly in their convictions.
Ultimately, this is a story about a family that has to deal with some strong ideological differences within its ranks. The effect it has on each of them is quite intense. Iman comes home from work clearly in a lot of pain from whatever he does on a day to day basis. Once the gun disappears, who he is an investigator is more strongly revealed. The middle section of the film curbs some of the political messages so prominent in the first part as it focuses heavily on Iman’s search for the gun and his attempt to figure out who stole it. His family is even put under investigation. The final section shows him in full action mode while his family is reluctantly drawn into the dangers that might lie ahead. A few of the plot turns and revelations aren’t perhaps as satisfying as what the tone and narrative suggests earlier in the film, but they do make for a pretty unpredictable if a bit disturbing resolution of the narrative.
It is also worthy to note the perspective of Iman and Najmeh who proclaim that the world might have changed but God hasn’t. It’s kind of a sad statement that Rasoulof is making that certain beliefs are so strong that there’s little room for social evolution when so many people are ultimately hurt by one government’s adherence to such certitudes.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is played in limited theatrical release in New York and L.A. It will be rolling out to other cities in the weeks to come.
FILM: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
DIRECTED BY: MOHAMMAD RASOULOF
STARRING: MISSAGH ZAREH, SOHELIA GOLESTANI, MAHSA ROSTAMI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
At the start of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Iman receives a job promotion as an investigator in Tehran. We don’t know all of the details surrounding what he does but this is definitely a higher profile position, somewhere in the government, which will then require his wife Najmeh and their two daughters, Rezvan and Sana, to be put under heavier protection. As part of this new role, he is given a gun which goes missing within their home. Fear and paranoia set in and everyone in the family is under suspicion.
The film was shot secretly by Mohammad Rasoulof, an Iranian director, who was sentenced to eight years in prison while it was being made. He then escaped to Europe and was present when the film won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It is now considered a leading contender for the Best International Feature Oscar. Of course, given the country’s view of the director and his film, it is not Iran’s submission. Rather it is Germany’s entry this year, in part due to its assistance in funding the film.
It’s not hard to imagine why the director would be so controversial in his home country. This film blasts the government and pulls in the perspective of the younger generation with numerous social media clips of the various protests and riots that occurred in the country within the last few years. Rasoulof is clearly on the side of women who have fought against the government and its stance on women’s rights. While this is a fictional story about something that has been very real in Iran, what’s most interesting is how this situation affects the individual members of the family as they hear the cries of “down with the dictator” and “down with theocracy” during the riots.
While Najmeh tries to balance the needs of Iman to protect the family with the girls’ more modern sensibilities, Rezvan has a college friend who is seriously injured during a major protest. When she brings her home, Najmeh doesn’t want to endanger the family but takes it upon herself to tend to the girl’s wounds. If not, the girl would be arrested. Yet Najmeh is also trying to stay true to Iman’s needs for the family to stay out of the spotlight, both outside and on social media. The girls, like a lot of young people, spend much of their time on their phones, which provide a more accurate picture of the reality outside. This signals a major cultural change in the country which also threatens its status quo. The girls are told not to question what is told but their response is, “what if what we’re told is wrong?”
It is these conflicting ideas about the present state of the country that makes the film particularly interesting and very relevant to Iran’s continued internal social and political issues. The film is filled with people keeping secrets, whispering, and harboring lies which suggests the amount of hidden truths within the culture. Yet the girls, being a part of a younger generation that has clearly been influenced by Western thought, have an English sign hanging in their bedroom reading “Don’t Give Up.” This becomes a major theme for them throughout the rest of the film. Both of them stand pretty firmly in their convictions.
Ultimately, this is a story about a family that has to deal with some strong ideological differences within its ranks. The effect it has on each of them is quite intense. Iman comes home from work clearly in a lot of pain from whatever he does on a day to day basis. Once the gun disappears, who he is an investigator is more strongly revealed. The middle section of the film curbs some of the political messages so prominent in the first part as it focuses heavily on Iman’s search for the gun and his attempt to figure out who stole it. His family is even put under investigation. The final section shows him in full action mode while his family is reluctantly drawn into the dangers that might lie ahead. A few of the plot turns and revelations aren’t perhaps as satisfying as what the tone and narrative suggests earlier in the film, but they do make for a pretty unpredictable if a bit disturbing resolution of the narrative.
It is also worthy to note the perspective of Iman and Najmeh who proclaim that the world might have changed but God hasn’t. It’s kind of a sad statement that Rasoulof is making that certain beliefs are so strong that there’s little room for social evolution when so many people are ultimately hurt by one government’s adherence to such certitudes.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is played in limited theatrical release in New York and L.A. It will be rolling out to other cities in the weeks to come.