The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Rasoulof, 2024)

 Written by Kenza Bouhnass-Parra

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Rasoulof, 2024) is major in every way. It is a film heavy with symbolism, not only for what is happening on screen but also for what it took to bring it to light. This political thriller was illegally filmed in Iran for about seventy days and after writer and director Mohammad Rasoulof had been sentenced to eight years in prison ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, he decided with some crew members to flee the country and cross borders by foot all the way to Germany. His arrival at the festival was spectacular and he and the cast and crew, barred from actors Soheila Golestani and Misagh Zare whose pictures he held on the red carpet, were showered with applause. The film went on to be awarded a Jury Special Prize, specifically created for it.

Already a masterful film in itself, the context in which it was created and brought to audiences elevates its power to an utter social and political statement. We follow a family in Tehran as nationwide protests escalate and societal functioning crumbles when the father, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court, one day realizes that his gun has disappeared. Paranoia ensues following the event as his suspicions incline towards his wife and two daughters. 

It is a complex film, that grapples with a lot of elements. The political unrest is not merely used as a practical background, where real-life footage is being incorporated into the narrative, it is closely intertwined with every single facet of the characters. The family dynamics are constantly challenged as the characters’ relationships are depicted to the viewer. Its four components are fully realized personas, where stereotypes and leaps are nowhere to be found. The film, with almost three hours of runtime, is very precise in where it wants to go and what sides of the characters it wants to show us at which moment. It does not barge into the heat of the narrative and instead takes the time to make the audience settle into the daily life of the family in order to fully grasp their fears, their aspirations, how they were each raised, the generational gasps, the past experiences and how they have shaped them. 

But the brilliance of the screenplay not only comes from maneuvering all these aspects while still advancing the enigma of the gun’s disappearance and heightening the tension resulting from it but also by using the family as a metaphor for the state of Iran itself. What happens behind confined walls serves as a symbol of public unrest. And yet, the characters are so fully constructed and tangible, that they never appear as a mere vessel to the allegory. 

A part of that achievement is also due to the exquisite performances. It is a true cast ensemble that becomes explosive once all gathered together. Soheila Golestani in particular who plays the matriarch is a force that transcends the screen and comes stealing every single heartbeat of the audience. 

An unpretentious set design and sober cinematography sets the actors free to seize the space and make it their own. The membrane disappears, the fluidity is total and we are transported into the room with them. It becomes something akin to theatre. 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig first appears as a slow-burn family drama, putting on display clashes in the Iranian society that reflects firstly on the characters but ultimately crosses the fourth wall and reaches the audience. And as you finally think that you have gotten a hand on the machinery, the layers and nuances of the plot come to a height as the third act descends into a horror that will you scarred.

I am blown away.

Kenza's Letterboxd Review

Photo credits to Vanity Fair, Deadline, and Cinema Nova.