…………………………………………………

The Seed of the Sacred Fig Movie Review

The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a 2024 Iranian political thriller drama film directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. It’s an important, but flawed film.

Judge Iman, paranoid amid Tehran’s unrest, loses his gun. Suspecting family, he imposes harsh rules, straining relationships as society destabilizes. I really liked the previous movie that this director made, but this one came as a disappointment. I got what he was trying to do here, but he didn’t quite succeed at it.

………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………..

Yes, the political unrest in Iran, especially Tehran is an important subject. The movie has that immediate, dangerous tone to it that made it thrilling and mostly engaging. This is a very long movie, clocking in at around two and a half hours, but the pacing is pretty strong, so at least it’s not a tedious watch.

But the issue that plagued this film is of course its structure and lack of focus. The film concerns itself with both the larger political unrest in the country and the more intimate familial drama, but even though both were far from tangential, I personally found the director straining at times to connect them properly, leading to a somewhat disparate structure and tone.

With that being said, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is very well performed by its cast and the characterization is quite good. The family scenes were the best of the bunch as this is where the movie was at its most moving and most intense. The ending was chaotic, but propulsive. The directing, editing and cinematography are all strong and the movie was shot and made with a lot of style, but it’s so tonally disorganized and cold that it was a bit difficult to emotionally engage with it.

………………………………………………….