Narrative
Investigating judge Iman struggles with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran
When his gun goes missing, he becomes suspicious of his wife and daughters and takes drastic measures that disrupt family ties as social norms crumble. Director Mohammad Rasoulof was originally scheduled to attend the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a member of the Un Certain Regard jury. . However, he was arrested in July 2022 after criticizing the government’s crackdown on protesters over a deadly building collapse in the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan. On May 8, 2024, Rasouloff’s lawyer announced that he had been sentenced to eight years in prison, as well as flogging, a fine, and the confiscation of his assets. On May 12, 2024, Rasouloff announced that he had successfully fled Iran and was staying in an undisclosed location in Europe. On May 24, 2024, Rasouloff attended the film’s premiere in Cannes, holding up photos of the film’s two actresses, Soheila Golestan and Missagh Zareh, on the red carpet.
Children think differently
Iman: Sana wants blue hair? Painted nails? Why? Najmeh: The world has changed. Iman: The world has changed, but God has not. And not his laws. Najmeh: We have to teach them that.
Iman: We always have
Opening credits: “Ficus Religiosa is a tree with an unusual life cycle. Its seeds, contained in bird droppings, fall on other trees. Aerial roots rise and grow all the way to the floor. The branches then wrap around the host tree and strangle it. Eventually, the sacred fig stands alone.” The Holy Fig Seed is the first relevant, powerful film about the Iranian uprising that took place in 2022. The Women, Life, Freedom movement was born right after the arrest and death of Jin Mahs Amin. she did nothing but take off her veil.
Should I go to college despite the strikes?
The director takes us into the family of an Iranian judge (working for the state and the Mullah regime) who is about to receive a promotion that is supposed to change his life just as the revolution begins in 2022. We, the audience, somehow experience this turning point in Iran through the eyes of this middle-class family improving their living conditions. We appear in their daily lives until the father’s (judge’s) gun disappears or is stolen from their house. The film has a wonderful script, amazing actors and images of an unknown Iran. You get to see Iran as we rarely see it with its modernity, rich history and ancient monuments, poverty and disadvantages. As in many Iranian films, the viewer finds himself in difficult situations with ethical questions that force him to choose between moral, personal values and loyalty to the regime: Do I wear this or that (less provocative) veil? Should I ask a neighbor for a favor and risk exposing my family’s problems?
The latter is described perfectly
Ethical questions are everywhere and are a direct consequence of the harsh repressive regime that has ruled Iran for decades. The characters face all these questions with dignity and a sense of duty, sometimes even loyalty to a regime that could not care less about its people. Through these situations, the lack of freedom, the oppression of women, the complicity of those who benefited from this regime and of course the cruelty of a regime that is condemned to sacrifice its own people in order to survive are revealed. the fate of a father who is willing to do his job honestly but is forced to corrupt himself and sacrifice his people to survive this revolution, however painful it may be. enjoyed a glimpse into the Iranian middle class. From the Western world it is difficult to see and imagine what the daily life of women in Iran is like.