The Seed of the Sacred Fig begins as a chamber drama, taking place primarily in the apartment of one family. Iman (Missagh Zareh) is a faithful lawyer working for the Revolutionary Court in Tehran and, when promoted to investigator, he must compromise his concept of justice and fall in line with Iran’s regime by approving death sentences without thorough oversight. His daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), and their mother, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), exist largely in his periphery, though it’s 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. Each night, he makes sure to put away his gun, one given to him by his superiors, so that he may use it to protect 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 had so much faith in disintegrates around him.

The Seed Of The Sacred 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 looks at the political landscape of Iran through one family during a time of political unrest. The death of Mahsa Amini is the inciting event of the film — the 22-year-old woman was beaten to death by state officials after allegedly violating Iran’s hijab laws, according to eyewitnesses.

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 Fig, which was filmed in secret by Rasoulof, the director uses actual footage of the protests in Iran rather than staging the action himself. It’s an effective and sobering tool, one that hammers home the reality that Rezvan, Sana, and Najmeh face both within their home and without.

Rasoulof was sentenced to 8 years in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court for making
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
, but fled the country prior to its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The secrecy around filming forces much of The Seed of the Sacred Fig to take place within the confines of the family’s apartment, creating a claustrophobic feel to the proceedings. The two-bedroom apartment seems to be closing in around Rezvan, Sana, and Najmeh as the violence outside the walls grows dire, eventually creeping its way inside. When Iman is there, the home 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, though we see the expansive countryside of Iran, there is little room to breathe. Iman is concerned the missing gun will cause him to lose his job. Though it seems at the beginning that Iman is compromising some part of himself by giving into the prosecutor’s demands, the film slowly reveals that Iman’s beliefs were a delusion, one that benefited him as much as it benefited his family.

The Real Horror Of The Seed Of The Sacred Fig Is Inside The Home

It’s a grim realization, one that forces Rezvan, Sana, and Najmeh to confront who Iman really is. Najmeh, who staunchly supports Iman and dismisses the protests, is forced to reckon 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 grows increasingly sinister 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.

By the end of
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
, the rigid structure of this family is eroding as something more evil takes over.

When The Seed of a Sacred Fig starts, it’s clear that Iman’s family can’t sustain its dynamic. Najmeh does everything she can to hold 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.

By the end of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the rigid structure of this family is eroding as something more evil takes over. The transition of tones is subtle – you don’t realize you’re watching a horror movie until it’s too late. Like the tides of change happening all around Rezvan, Najmeh, and Sana, we are swept up in their fight for survival in a world that is doing 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 is not yet rated.