Seed of the Sacred Fig Parent Guide

After twenty years of service to Iran’s Revolutionary Court, Iman (Missagh Zareh) is gratified to be promoted to the position of investigating judge. His wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) is delighted: the new job means a higher salary and a bigger apartment in a better neighborhood.

But in the repressive Iranian system, nothing comes without a price. When Iman is ordered to sign convictions and order the death sentence on cases he hasn’t even read, he grapples with his conscience and the competing demands of security and honor.

While Iman fights his internal battle, the country around him is plunged into chaos upon the death in police custody of a young woman (the real life Mahsa Amini). Protests fill the streets and Iman and Najmeh’s daughters, 20-year-old Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and teenager Sana (Setareh Maleki), quickly become caught up in the fervor of the protesters’ demands – and disenchanted with the brutal response of the regime. Arguments between Iman and his daughters ensue: this would be manageable but then his government-issued gun goes missing. The lost gun could not only cost Iman his career; it could also put him in prison for three years.

The search for the gun tears the family apart and forces Iman, Najmeh, and their daughters to consider their religious faith, their loyalty to the regime, and their feelings for each other. As fear, distrust, and paranoia dominate Iman’s perspective, the personalities of all family members are revealed – with tragic results.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a Cannes-award-winning movie; an achievement all the more impressive because it was filmed in secret over a 70 day period. In fact, director Mohammad Rasoulof was out of favor with Iran’s theocratic regime and after being convicted of criticizing the government, was forced to flee the country. Some of the cast and crew were able to escape, but others remain in Iran, still in peril. For courage alone, this movie stands out in the crowd.

It’s a brave movie, but also a flawed one. At almost three hours, it’s much too long and could use tighter editing. That said, it’s a powerful film with a chilling depiction of the costs of repression both to victims and perpetrators. Iman’s unflinching support for Iran’s brutal government makes it impossible for him to be open-minded about his daughters’ experiences and opinions or to acknowledge his own complicity in the regime’s violence. As he dispatches fellow citizens to their deaths, he also corrodes his own humanity.

Watching a family fracture is painful but it’s also believable thanks to the power of the cast. Special recognition goes to Soheila Golestani, whose portrayal of a devout woman torn between her fading trust in the system, her increasingly frayed devotion to her husband, and her anxious devotion to her daughters. It’s Najmeh around who the family revolves, and Ms. Golestani has the emotional depth to fully inhabit the role.

There’s an audience for The Seed of the Sacred Fig, but I don’t think it’s going to be a large one. The movie’s length and use of subtitles are a deterrent for mass audiences, but that won’t stop fans of serious dramas. This haunting film has a lot to say about authoritarian states, theocracy, religious fundamentalism, misogyny, and human rights, and it says it well. If a serious movie-with-a-message appeals to you, this could give you lots to think about for a long time afterwards.