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The Seed of the Sacred Fig is one of the best films of the year and undoubtedly had the highest stakes for the team who made it.
Out November 27 in the US, the film won director Mohammad Rasoulof the Special Jury and the FIPRESCI prizes after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year. It also earned a 12-minute standing ovation.
Just the day before the festival, Rasoulof was forced to flee his homeland of Iran due to being sentenced by the Islamic Republic to eight years in prison and a flogging. He also had all of his property confiscated by the corrupt regime.
The brilliant 168-minute film is set in modern-day Tehran and follows a family who is forced to reckon with their patriarch’s role in sustaining the brutal rule of the Iranian government.
Iman (Missagh Zareh) is a lawyer promoted to the position of investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court, meaning he is part of signing off on the death sentences the court hands down. He and his family struggle with this reality against the backdrop of the 2022 feminist protests in the country.
The drama amps up when Iman’s wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), secretly helps a protestor who was shot by the police.
Mohammad Rasoulof was forced to flee Iran because of his filmmaking (Picture: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
His teenage daughters (Setareh Malek and Mahsa Rostami) begin to question the patriarchal regime of the country, much to Iman’s dismay, who grows increasingly suspicious of his wife and daughters.
Like most teenagers, the girls see the world partly through the lens of social media, and the film uses this as a clever storytelling device throughout, including clips of the catastrophic protests happening outside the family’s home.
The film is a magnificent achievement (Picture: NEON/YouTube)
Things only get more dramatic as the film plays out, culminating in a shocking car chase and an extraordinary example of Chekhov’s gun.
The film is a powerful and moving critique of the Iranian government, the latest in Rasoulof’s radical, political career in filmmaking.
His latest jail sentence is one of many legal consequences he’s faced over the last 15 years.
Much of the film takes place through the lens of social media (Picture: NEON/YouTube)
This time, The Seed of the Sacred Fig was shot in secret without required government authorization: ‘That’s when I saw no other way but leaving the country,’ Rasoulof said.
Most filmmakers arrive by private jet or boat to attend Cannes, in contrast, Rasoulof traveled on foot over Iran’s mountains for 28-days in order to eventually make his way to Cannes by way of Germany.
The auteur wanted to continue living in his homeland and affecting change through his work, but that ‘meant living under constant fear, pressure and with a great deal of tension,’ he told NPR.
Iman’s two teenage daughters begin to sympathize with the protesters throughout the film (Picture: NEON/YouTube)
The …read more
Source:: Metro
