The Seed of the Sacred Fig

While I quite enjoyed the movie, I have a strong suspicion that a documentary of the story behind the making of The Seed of the Sacred Fig would far more fascinating. Shot in Iran by director Mohammad Rasoulof while being sentenced to prison, the film was smuggled out of the country with the director to follow just hours before he would have been forced to surrender to authorities. Cut together with Internet footage of the Iranian government's harsh crackdown on protestors, the thriller takes us into the lives of a single Iranian family which dissolves in front of eyes due to fear, paranoia, and oppression.

The film starts out with the promotion of Iman (Missagh Zareh) from lawyer to judge not based on his legal acumen but with expectations of his superiors he will rubberstamp judgements by the government leading to mass arrests and death sentences without letting small factors like evidence or facts get in the way.

While initially concerned over the moral quandary, Iman doesn't falter enough to refuse the promotion, although his new job comes with a gun, forced secrecy for his family to look and behave the part of good citizens, and a growing paranoia from the man who begins to suspect everyone is out to get him even his wife (Soheila Golestani) and daughters (Mahsa Rostami and Setareh Maleki) when his gun goes missing after they help a young protestor (Niousha Akhshi) without his knowledge.

Not being able to trust anyone, Iman's paranoia eventually turns on his family leading to a harrowing final act where such dark roads may lead. While the 168-minute running time certainly could be trimmed down, the political drama that becomes a slow-burn thriller, shot in secret over 70 days and edited together in Germany, is an impressive feat showcasing Iman's oppressive fist and growing irrationality towards his family as a metaphor for the government's oppression of its citizens as both fall into chaos. And for those in this country looking down the barrel of fascism, defended by many of its own citizens against their own self-interest, it's a chilling cautionary tale.

• Title: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• IMDb: link