Our take
The Seed of the Sacred Fig bravely takes on the increasingly violent patriarchy and theocracy in modern-day Iran. It follows a family of four—Iman, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami), and Sana (Setareh Maleki)—and reveals how the political can creep into the personal. Iman, the father, has just been promoted at work (he’s one step closer to being a judge), while his two daughters are budding revolutionaries. The educated girls see through the lies of state television and challenge their conservative parents’ ideas on government and religion. It sounds straightforward, but director Mohammad Rasoulof lets everything unfold subtly and sharply. By the second half, the film transforms into a slow-burn thriller as the family home becomes a microcosm of Iran itself. It’s a brave film helmed by even braver people. Rasoulof and his cast, who filmed in secret to avoid the film ban in Iran, had to escape to Europe after they were interrogated and sentenced in their home country. The Seed of the Sacred Fig can’t encapsulate the entirety of Iran’s troubles, nor does it try, but it’s a good place to start.
What it won
Oscars
1 nom
Golden Globes
1 nom
BAFTA
1 nom
LAFCA
1 win
European Film Awards
3 noms
César Awards
1 nom
The story
Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.
Elsewhere
"Beneath Rasoulof’s blistering rage erupts a wellspring of empathy: for young women, like Rezvan and Sana, fighting to be heard, and for wives and mothers, like Najmeh, participating in their own oppression."
— Justin Chang
"Though the film is epic in length and ambitious in subject, it also has a hurried, shoestring quality."
— Mark Asch
A promotion at the Islamic Revolutionary Court compels Iman (Misagh Zare) to act more carefully in public, but despite his dutiful wife’s best efforts, his headstrong daughters threaten his position.
Plenty of memorable, haunting images here but the parallel between how the mother uses tweezers twice in the film is particularly gut-punching.
It’s a brave political film that doubles as commentary on tense family dynamics.
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
It was just a waste of time.