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The Seed of the Sacred Fig Is Furious, and It Wants You to Be, Too
The boldness of Iranian girls and women is the inspiration and essence of Mohammad Rasoulof’s new film.
For the thousands of people who flooded the streets chanting “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi,” the Persian words for “Woman, Life, Freedom,” and who know how viciously the government can punish women for being perceived as immoral, that story didn’t fly. That change, says his wife Najmeh (played by Soheila Golestani, who in real life was jailed during the protests and remains unable to leave Iran), is the perfect opportunity to tell their two daughters, early-20s Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and teenage Sana (Setareh Maleki), what Iman does for a living, and to stress how the responsibilities of his new position affect them, too. By the time Rasoulof does indulge in some artistic flourish by zooming in on the bloody buckshot Najmeh spills down the family’s bathroom sink after giving first aid to a protestor, or shifting the POV to Sana’s eyes behind a blindfold in an interrogation cell, The Seed of the Sacred Fig has made the stakes clear enough that these moments aren’t distractions, but emotionally devastating complements.
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