- Release year: 2024
- Director: Mohammad Rasoulof.
- Producers: Rozita Hendijanian, Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, and Mani Tilgner.
- Screenplay by: Mohammad Rasoulof.
- Cinematography by: Pooyan Aghababaei.
- Music by: Karzan Mahmood.
Synopsis: the disappearance of a gun makes tensions rise in a family where the members don’t quite see eye to eye.
Shotgun Commentary: way longer than it should’ve been, but interesting nonetheless.
Review
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is an exploration of the theocratic regime in Tehran through the perspective of a family whose father works for it. This point of view combines that of the worker, his conservative wife, and his two teenage daughters. The diversity of opinions and ideas functions as a pressure-cook about to burst. A precarious situation that only gets worse with the disappearance of the father’s gun.
The fact in the fiction
The feature combines a fictional story and real-life footage. Providing both the individual and the collective experience of living under the Iranian regime. Unsurprisingly, the film had to be shot in secret, but this setback doesn’t translate at all in the movie. In fact, it is hard to determine just by watching the film whether it was shot in secret or elsewhere. This speaks volumes of the talented crew involved in the project. A group capable of delivering a wonderful film despite the hardship they had to face to do so.
As for the content of the film, it can be separated in two sections, real and fictional. The real footage used for the social media content that the teenagers consume reminds greatly of My Stolen Planet (2024). A documentary with the same theme as this film where the filmmaker showcases how women have been affected by the theocratic regime. The Seed of the Sacred Fig for its part offers a wider approach in terms of who are affected by the regime, but also a more varied personal approach, as it showcases the family dynamics between people who believe in the system blindly and those who put it in question.
A frail system
That topic is particularly interesting, especially during the moments when the daughters ask simple, innocent questions to their parents. Questions they do not know how to answer because they were not featured in their dogma. Questions that expose the flaws in the beliefs. Statements like, “why do you have to decide on our relationship with our god?” automatically make them nervous. As does when they remark on the contradictory statements given by the news.
Still, the most mind-blowing part of their behaviour is their unwillingness to look at the truth. Even when it is staring at them right in the face. While the teenage daughters consume as much social media as possible to learn about the real events that are taking place in their city, the parents hide from it. They chose to consume regime-regulated news instead. Even when those official channels say ridiculous things like ruling the cause of death of a young woman in a police station a heart attack.
Generational rift
The contrast between generations is clear, but it deepens further once they dive into feminism. It all begins with seemingly innocuous things, the girls want to dye their hair and paint their nails. Soon, the situation escalates, when the father compares not wearing a hijab to prostitution. And it finally reaches its boiling point when the daughters ask their mother why she always does as the father says.
They can’t understand why both partners aren’t equal in a couple, not why a woman should have to do everything a man says. These notions, that should be a given for everyone (but sadly aren’t), give a great deal of hope. Hope in a future where the youth, men and women, will finally break free from the ridiculous ideas of small men and see the truth, that equality is the only constructive way forward.
All in all, The Seed of the Sacred Fig puts in question the theocratic regime by exposing what it really is, a way for a small group of scared men to manipulate a whole country by hiding behind their religion. It is thought-provoking, daring, and beautiful in its own tragic way. It does drag-on during certain parts, but overall it is a fascinating watch.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Question everything, never let others tell you what to believe.
- Family is something you should be able to count on.
- Never believe blindly in the news, they are all biased and should be watched with a critical mindset.
What’s your take? Have you watched The Seed of the Sacred Fig? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀