The Seed of the Sacred Fig (15)
Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof 

 
SHOT entirely in secret in and around Tehran, this Bafta and Oscar-nominated political thriller demonstrates the bravery and the power of art as it outlines the reality of life under an oppressive and brutal regime. 
 
Written and directed by now exiled Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof the film follows Iman (Missagh Zareh) whose promotion to Investigating Judge to the Islamic Revolutionary Court turns him from a loving husband and father into a paranoid, distrustful, authoritarian patriarch. When his handgun goes missing at home he believes his wife and two daughters are to blame and introduces draconian measures to uncover the truth. Losing his service weapon could end his illustrious career and result in three years in prison. The question is how far is he prepared to go to save his own skin. 
 
Set against the backdrop of growing unrest in Iran and the Jina (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising the film interweaves real life footage of women, protesting against wearing the hijab and being attacked and beaten by police with the drama.  
 
Iman’s wife (Soheila Golestani) is a traditionalist who does what her husband tells her, while her girls are progressive and question the state response and news reports on the demonstrations and the death of a woman in police custody. 
 
Najmeh (Golestani) tells her daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) that they have to act impeccably, wear the hijab in public at all times and avoid social media in order not to jeopardise their father’s new job. It proves a battle of wills as the girls attempt to open their mother’s eyes to the reality of what is going on. 
 
It is a very ambitious and complex thriller that observes Iranian reality through a male gaze and provides a heightened and highly critical picture of Iranian life. It tells a gripping story.
 
The gun is a metaphor for power in a wider sense but it also provides an opportunity for the main protagonists to reveal their secrets, while the film delivers a blistering indictment on oppressive rule whether it is a country or a family home. 
 
Just when you think it isn’t going to go to the extremes it is suggesting, it does and it is a very hard watch at times.  
 
Rasoulof, who was sentenced to eight years in jail and lashings during filming, delivers a thrilling drama which doesn’t disguise its desire to make a powerful political statement.
 
In cinemas February 7