de facto film reviews 3 stars

Like many other Iranian films and filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof’s latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, had to be made discreetly in fear of being fined or jailed. This is because Iran doesn’t have free speech protection with severe censorship; he fled to Germany and directed the film remotely with his cast and crew in Iran. It’s like we have another Iranian rebel here like Jafar Panahi, who has been arrested before for the same practices. Even though I have spoken to some Iranian Defacto readers and film buffs who believe Rasoulof’s actions are a stunt and designed to get buzz for his films. Regardless, Rasouli’s brings the spotlight to current Iranian oppression and inequality on Iranian women, and it’s a very gripping film.

The film begins in a lawyer’s office with Iman (Missagh Zareh), a lawyer who just gets a promotion to judge. This is a big promotion that can bring more prosperity for him and his family. He is married to his loving wife Najmah (Soheila Golestani) and has two teenage daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Tostami) and Sana (Satareh Maleki), and they reside in a small apartment that feels cramped in. Eventually, Iman’s promotion ends up disappointing as it’s a corrupt position where he is ordered from upper officials to sign off on cases before hearing out evidence, even when it comes to decisions regarding life sentences involving the death penalty. For his protection, he is mandated to carry a firearm. He is also ordered that his family delete their social media accounts so there isn’t a public trace of him or his family.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Courtesy Neon

Political unrest unfolds on college campuses once there is an uprising for female equality so they can hold the right to wear a hijab in public or not. Rezvan and Sana’s close friend and classmate Sadaf (Niosha Akhshi) gets shot in the face by a rubber bullet that leaves her face permanently irritated and burnt. Iman is set in the old guard, as he orders his daughters not to take sides and to accept the traditional ways. This leads to tension in the household, and Rezvan and Sana begin to rebel against Iman, who is an apologist and enabler for Iran’s oppression. Situations spin even more out of control once Iman’s gun disappears from the household. At first, he suspects the girls took it, but they deny to the end that they didn’t. Paranoid that his life is in danger from the civil unrest, Iman ends up taking the family to his childhood home in the mountains as tensions continue to escalate between the family. During the third act, the film actually begins to feel like something out of The Amityville Horror or The Shining as Iman gets more unhinged once his anxieties unwind and he becomes abusive and sinister. The film clocks in at 168 mins, and while some of the pacing suffers with its deliberate slow-burn pacing, the film expertly taps into oppression and hypocrisy. It’s undeniably an essential piece of filmmaking.

Like many other recent Iranian films, Rasoulof’s vision is brave, and it requires attention by audiences. The film offers a foundation and is a plight for equality. The film rolls out with principles and ideas, and he portrays the family with many nuances and vulnerabilities. It’s a film about staying courageous and staying true to one’s convictions, and sometimes you cannot even let family stand in the way of them. Sometimes, we truly discover who people are as they eventually reveal their true nature once the normalization of an oppressive society is finally combated against. Ultimately, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a searing thriller and a vigorous labyrinth of courage, secrets and suspense.

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG is now playing in limited theaters. It opens this Friday, January 3rd, 2025 at the Detroit Film Theater

The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum