{"id":36342,"date":"2024-10-24T23:49:16","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=36342"},"modified":"2024-10-24T23:49:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:49:16","slug":"director-is-satisfied-the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-takes-root-in-darkness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/director-is-satisfied-the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-takes-root-in-darkness\/","title":{"rendered":"Director is Satisfied: \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig\u201d takes root in darkness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

\"\"<\/a>
Poster of \u00a0\u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iman<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s path seems divinely blessed: he<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s been<\/span><\/span>appointed as an investigator <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> the Revolutionary Court<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a structure that prosecutes people <\/span><\/span>for<\/span><\/span> attempting to overthrow the government. <\/span><\/span>At first<\/span><\/span>, signing death sentences without reviewing cases <\/span><\/span>feels<\/span><\/span> unprofessional, but there<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s no other way to secure a <\/span><\/span>three<\/span><\/span>-bedroom apartment and advance toward<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>becoming a judge. <\/span><\/span>The<\/span><\/span> position<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>also demands living in constant tension<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> a pistol always within reach: amidst mass protests in Tehran, a database containing personal information of regime agents has been leaked.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>The Seed of the Sacred Fig,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>the inner life of a single family mirrors the sociopolitical turmoil of the country in which it exists<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a nation plagued with paranoi<\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>, violence, and injustice. Najmeh, Iman’s wife, strives to maintain domestic life, preserving rather than nurturing traditional ways. But for whom? Both their daughters, Sana and Rezvan, familiar with the <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>other world<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>through social media, resist imposed values. <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>I know the truth because I live in this country and I have eyes,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>21-year-old Sana tells her father during dinner. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The narrative’s slow-burning tension<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>ignites <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span> the disappearance of the pistol, <\/span><\/span>which<\/span><\/span> Iman routinely places in the bedside table each night. Who among the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>familiar faces has become the catalyst for rebellion, driving the film into thriller territory with interrogations, chases, and raw domestic violence? Confronted with catastrophe, three women<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>mother and daughters<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>forge new unity and transition from passivity to various forms of disobedience. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The <\/span><\/span>making<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>The Seed of the Sacred Fig<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> also<\/span><\/span>stands<\/span><\/span> as<\/span><\/span> an act of disobedience. Rasoulof created it <\/span><\/span>in secret<\/span><\/span>, violating censorship during a <\/span><\/span>brief <\/span><\/span>two-month window between his release from prison<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>where he served time for his previous work<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>another <\/span><\/span>impending <\/span><\/span>trial<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>His<\/span><\/span>refusal to withdraw the film from Cannes<\/span><\/span>\u2019 <\/span><\/span>competition triggered the regime<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s full wrath: an eight-year sentence, property<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>confiscation, and public flogging. Yet, with forged papers, Rasoulof managed to <\/span><\/span>escape<\/span><\/span> the country<\/span><\/span>; <\/span><\/span>his film and <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>ct<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>resistance earned him a fifteen-minute standing ovation at the Cannes premiere<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>I have never witnessed an audience applaud repeatedly during a screening,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>Rasoulof reflected<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>having appeared<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>on the red carpet carrying photographs of Missa Zareh and Soheila Golestani<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>actors forbidden from leaving Iran. The applause, <\/span><\/span>notably<\/span><\/span>, first swelled at Iman<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>untoward<\/span><\/span> Quranic quotation, then thundered <\/span><\/span>even <\/span><\/span>longer at Sana<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s defiant <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>no<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> to her father<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s challenge: <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>I have served this regime for twenty years<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span> don’t you think I understand the situation better?<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Universal human yearnings<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>for security and liberty<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>pulse as strongly in Iran as anywhere else. Children there share the same fundamental need for parental love and understanding. By centering his narrative on youth, Rasoulof<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>suggest<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> that society <\/span><\/span>needs to <\/span><\/span>rebuild itself on more rational foundations, while the old order must wither. <\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>he new generation<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>seeds of imminent transformation<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>has already sent <\/span><\/span>its<\/span><\/span>aerial roots in<\/span><\/span>to<\/span><\/span> the edifice of authority. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rasoulof<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s approach inverts the provocative motifs found in absurdist classics like Ferreri<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Dillinger is Dead<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> and Khotinenko<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Makarov,<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> where artists become owners of a gun<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a symbol of power. Which <\/span><\/span>poses<\/span><\/span> the greater threat: a poet armed with a weapon<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> or a regime loyalist stripped of <\/span><\/span>one<\/span><\/span>? <\/span><\/span>S<\/span><\/span>uch questions<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>it is to be hoped, shall remain confined to rhetoric’s domain.<\/span><\/span> As for the <\/span><\/span>visual modesty of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>The Seed of the Sacred Fig<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>it <\/span><\/span>reads not as limitation<\/span><\/span>, but<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>as<\/span><\/span> conscious <\/span><\/span>design<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>Such<\/span><\/span> cinema transcends traditional aesthetic judgment<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>t need <\/span><\/span>not <\/span><\/span>dazzle with invention<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>it simply needs to exist.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ficus Religiosa\u2014a plant with an unusual life cycle. Its seeds, dispersed by birds, fall ontoother trees and, as they germinate, extend their aerial roots earthward. The new branches entwinearound the host plant, strangling it until the sacred fig stands autonomous. According to legend, it was under such a tree that Buddha Gautama achieved enlightenment. But what does this have to do with Mohammad Rasoulof, his new film, and today\u2019s Iran?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":36330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,84],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-36342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36342"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=36342"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=36342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}