SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (2024) Expatriate Director Mohammad Rasoulof's drama impressively combines real events within Iran with a tense family drama. The making of the film was even more harrowing. Shot in secret, Rasoulof was sentenced to prison for his political stands before finishing it. He and some of the cast and crew managed to escape - with the footage - to Germany.
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG is based on the 2022 death of activist Masha Amini who died suspiciously in police custody after being arrested for protesting wearing a habib. The protests that ensued set the backdrop for Rasoulof's screenplay about a newly appointed Judicial investigator Iman (Missagh Zareh), his wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestan) and two daughters. The eldest, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) is friends with some of the protesters and is fully sympathetic to the cause. Sana (Setareh Maleki) is not quite as forward, but grows more so over the course of the story.
Iman's new position carries prestige and other perks, but becomes a double-edged sword both professionally and within his household. Upholding the extreme religious law of the government weighs heavily on him. The deeper his responsibilities get, the more withdrawn and absent he becomes as a husband and parent. He crosses over when he allows his wife and children to be interrogated by a seasoned inquisitor when his gun goes missing. Iman soon ups the stakes.
Rasoulof powerfully shows how a regime based on oppression and patriarchy can reverberate down to the family unit. The gun may be a bit of a blunt symbol, but it's a cogent one. A theocracy based on lies, repression and paranoia leads to dangerous consequences. The title refers to a species of fig that his highly invasive and 'strangles' others. Rasoulof further amps up the tension by using real, and often graphic footage of the protests over Amini's murder.
The three women gain strength by joining together to not only oppose their father, but in their hope for a better tomorrow. It's important to keep in mind before the Iranian revolution in the late 70s, the country was one of the most progressive for women in that region of the world. Najmeh, Rezvan and Sana carry that spirit on.
