Film #2
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (França e Alemanha, 2024) Ainda sem título em português
Original title: دانهی انجیر معابد
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Writer/Screenplay: Mohammad Rasoulof
Main cast: Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami e Niusha Rostami
Runtime: 168 minutes (2°48’)
Although the film’s official credits are linked to France and Germany, it’s undeniable that The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a Persian movie, both because it’s set in Iran and because it addresses issues that are very relevant to the country at the moment. Exiled from his country to avoid being arrested for criticizing the regime, the director also suffered government threats trying to stop the release of the movie – which means that his representative self-awareness is a reflection of the reality that exists in Iran.
The opening credits already explain the movie’s title, talking about a species of fig tree that becomes a parasite of another tree and ends up occupying its space through the structure of the tree in which it settles. It doesn’t take much to understand that this is a comparison with the theocratic regime currently in force in the country, and so we follow the life of a couple completely immersed in this regime given the recent promotion of the father, Iman (Misagh Zare), to a kind of criminal investigator for the government. At a time when society is starting to revolt against theocracy, internal and external conflicts mix between the safety of the family and the trust between its members, especially between the father and his teenage daughters.
The movie’s long runtime is compensated by a complex and diverse script in representations, with the conflict being one of the main bases for the narrative moment. First, the obvious external conflict: Iran is going through a time of several changes and protests from citizens, or more specifically, female citizens, and the State doesn’t respond peacefully. Then, there are the conflicts between the characters in the family, such as the daughters starting to demand greater modernity and empathy from the father, the mother portrayed as the conciliatory one and even the conflict between sisters, which is normal when we think of two teenagers.
But the deepest and most interesting layer lies in the internal conflicts of each of them, presented clearly but never objectively, which shows a great reflex of how humans work. Between the frustration of liking the new job but not knowing what’s included in it, Iman goes through moments of terror thinking about what could be done with this family. If we think about it, it becomes difficult to judge him, and thus the complexities that make the film so interesting take shape. Thinking about all the events in the movie and its more dynamic editing, the almost three hours of running time actually go by quickly.
Sound plays a central role in the film, both because it can modulate the narrative and help create a tense atmosphere through the soundtrack, and because it uses greater sensitivity to sounds in moments of greater tension, as if we could feel what the characters are feeling in our own bodies. With great technical skill and a very well-formed creative concept, this is also what the cinematography achieves. From the scenes with strange framing when we think of family dynamics, to the use of colors to create the sensation of temperature as the film develops, everything engages the viewer in a sophisticated way. Even the breaks in tension, intentional for the moments leading up to major events, are well calculated. The use of real images captured at protests to blend with the film deepens the sense of reality, bringing viewers closer to a reality that may very well be unknown to them.
Far from most of the clichés of Iranian cinema and actually closing in on its most creative directors, the movie is essential not only for those who love cinema, but also for those who try to understand more empathetically what and how state conflicts can reflect on the lives of families.
Translation: Renata Torres
