A contemporary domestic drama that morphs into a terrifying political horror

The seed of the sacred fig

It begins as a chamber drama, which mainly takes place in the apartment of one family. Iman (Missagh Zareh) is a loyal lawyer who works for the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, and when he is promoted to investigator, he must compromise his concept of justice and fall in line with Iran's regime by approving death sentences without a thorough investigation. Supervisor. His daughters, Razwan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setarh Maleki), and their mother, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), exist largely on his periphery, although it is this trio that the film is most interested in.

Iman floats in and out of the apartment like a ghost, attending to the unseen business that is visibly wearing on him. Every night he makes sure to put away his gun, one given to him by his superior, so that he can use it to defend himself if and when his position at work is compromised. When the gun disappears, though, The seed of the sacred fig Blooms into something terrifying, a domestic drama morphing into a portrait of horror as the family Iman has so much faith in disintegrates around him.

The seed of the holy fig is set during real events

The Mahsha Amini protests began in 2022

Directed by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, The seed of the sacred fig A look at the political landscape of Iran through one family in a time of political unrest. The death of Mahsa Amini is the film's incendiary event - the 22-year-old woman was beaten to death by state officials after allegedly violating Iran's hijab laws, according to witnesses.

Amini's death sparked protests that soon turned violent, resulting in the deaths of 551 people at the hands of the government. Due to the nature of The seed of the sacred figFilmed in secret by Rasoulof, the director uses actual footage of the protests in Iran rather than staging the action itself. It is an effective and sobering tool that hammers home the reality that Razwan, Sana and Najma face in their home and outside.

The secrecy surrounding filming forces much of The seed of the sacred fig To take place in the confines of the family's apartment, creating a claustrophobic feeling in the proceedings. The two-bedroom apartment seems to be closing in around Rizwan, Sana and Najmeh as the violence outside the walls grows heavy, eventually creeping its way inside. When Iman is there, the house feels even smaller, his imposing presence a reminder of the oppressive forces at work.

When the family is forced to flee Tehran, Iman takes them to his childhood home and, although we see the vast countryside of Iran, there is little room to breathe. Iman is worried that the missing gun will cause him to lose his job. Although it seems at the beginning that Iman compromises some part of himself by giving in to the prosecutor's demands, the film slowly reveals that Iman's belief was a delusion, one that benefited him as much as it benefited his family.

The real horror of the seed of the holy fig is within the home

It's a harsh realization that forces Rezwan, Sana and Najmeh to confront who Iman really is. Najmeh, who strongly supports Iman and abandons the protests, is forced to come to terms with her love for her daughters and their increasingly progressive perspectives in the face of political turmoil. Whether she chooses her husband or her daughters is the source of much of the film's tension as their lives fall apart.

Each actor gives a stunning performance - Zareh is increasingly evil as Iman while the three women - Golestani, Malecki and Rostami - are a powerful trio as their positions shift throughout the film. It's a delicate balancing act and Rasoulof pulls it off amid a sprawling epic that looks at a key moment in history through the microcosmic lens of a family in a state of revolution.

when The seed of a sacred fig Starts, it is clear that Iman's family cannot sustain its dynamic. Najmeh does everything she can to keep her family together, but the change happening in their lives is an unstoppable force that bends the world to its will in both good and bad ways.

At the end of The seed of the sacred figThe rigid structure of this family is eroding as something more sinister takes over. The transition of tones is subtle - you don't realize you're watching a horror movie until it's too late. As the tides of change unfold around Razwan, Najmeh and Sana, we are swept up in their fight for survival in a world that does everything it can to keep them down.

The seed of the sacred fig Screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is 168 minutes long and has not yet been rated.