The Seed of Sacred Fig has been available in theaters since January 9, distributed by Maré Filmes, and is Germany's candidate for a nomination to the Oscars for Best International Film.
I saw the movie at the Rio Film Festival and it was one of the best films I saw in 2024 and I recommend it.
Tense, dense, powerful and impactful, a film that mixes fiction with documentary in a world where everything is condemned, especially minorities and women, and even though those who are part of the system of condemnation, even if they have their questions and morals, are also condemned to being puppets and those who are against or who protest suffer the consequences, there is no freedom or a false freedom.
Ever since the film was announced at the Cannes Film Festival, there was an expectation of what would happen to the film's director, Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been sentenced to prison by the Iranian government and also condemned to more than 100 lashes for having made the film that was harshly critical of the theocratic system and the way women are portrayed.
The Seed of sacred fig
The title of the film is a metaphor for the political regime and the resistance of the people, since the fig tree is a sacred tree in many cultures and religions and one of its scientific names is Ficus religiosa.
Mohammad Rasoulof managed to escape and was received to great applause by the Cannes audience, and after the first screening many considered him to be the favorite to win the Palme d'Or.
The film even won a special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival and director Mohammad Rasoulof managed to flee Iran to present the film and seek asylum in Germany, where he is nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film.
We enter the life of an Iranian family in which the father Iman (Missagh Zareh gets a promotion to be a government judge and has to decide quickly on people's cases and convictions without even being able to read the cases in full as each one contains hundreds of pages and there is little time for the trial. pressure on his decisions is increasing and he is becoming more and more distant from his family because he doesn't want to tell them what is really going on because it will have a direct influence on his family, which consists of his wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and his two daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki).
Meanwhile, a wave of protests intensifies in the country after a young woman was killed for not wearing the Hijab correctly. She was arrested by the police, who impose strict clothing rules on women, and died in custody after her death.
After her death, thousands of Iranians got together and began to hold huge protests in the country and the clashes with the police and the government with the population are getting bigger and more violent and have been shown to the world and this was a real fact that happened in the country in 2022 according to the news.
The judge's daughters find themselves in the middle of these protests and it is at this moment that the fictional is linked to the real, with the many real videos made by people and posted on social networks showing the protests and the action taken by the government and the police to stop the demonstrators, and many videos with the slogan “down with theocracy”, of which Iran has been a part since the end of the century (a theocratic country or government is one that is based on political power). videos with the slogan “down with the theocracy”, of which Iran has been a part since the late 1970s (a theocratic country or government is one in which political power is based on religious power) and which has limited freedoms and imposed various rules on women, including the wearing of the hijab.
And this ends up involving a personal friend of Rezvan's, the eldest daughter of the family, with her friend Sadaf (Niousha Akhshi) in some of the most emblematic and painful scenes in the film.
And as the demonstrations intensify, the pressure on the family increases and escalates due to growing suspicions and doubts that further affect their sanity and trust, which also involves questions of survival.
The first hour and a half of the movie is astonishing, the tension and distress are felt at every moment and the director's fierce criticism of the Iranian theocratic government with the slogan “down with theocracy”, however, the final part loses strength when it comes to the decision-making process or how it is carried out, losing some of the focus and power of the film, but perhaps this was to throw the Iranian government off the story of the film, but it is still a great film with powerful performances from the three actresses who play the mother and daughters, with great editing and montage, and a film that is extremely necessary to be seen, not just to get to know Iranian cinema.
The Seed of sacred Fig
Germany – France – Iran | 2024 | 166 min. | Drama – Suspense
Original Title: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Screenplay: Mohammad Rasoulof
Cast: Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi, Missagh Zareh, Soheila Golestani, Reza Akhlaghirad, Shiva Ordooie
Distribution in Brazil: Mares Filmes
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