This Heartbreaking Masterpiece With 94% on RT Is the Best Drama Released in 2024

The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof, a director from Iran who left the country and settled in Germany, is one of the best films of 2024. The psychological drama premiered in the main competition at Cannes.

The plot revolves around the family of an investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court during the protests in the country.

What Is The Seed of the Sacred Fig About?

Lawyer Iman has worked hard for 20 years and finally earned a promotion to the position of investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court. Perhaps soon he, his wife Najmeh, and their daughters Rezvan and Sana will be able to move into a three-room apartment. For now, Rezvan and Sana are forced to crowd into one room.

A large protest erupts in the streets of Tehran. Iman is required to work almost around the clock and, under orders from his superiors, can only issue verdicts, including death sentences. At first Iman is worried, but Najmeh reassures him that he is not to blame for the deaths of others, but is only following the orders of his superiors.

The protesters begin to publish the prosecutor's data. Iman is given a gun at work, just in case. When the gun disappears, Iman begins to suspect Najmeh, Rezvan and Sana. For losing the gun, the head of the family faces a real prison sentence. The situation in the apartment becomes increasingly tense, and the relatives no longer trust each other.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig Is a Multifaceted Work That Deserves Attention

In Cannes, The Seed of the Sacred Fig won five awards, including the Special Jury Prize. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe and is rightly considered one of the Oscar favorites.

This is a film that was born in spite of censorship, repression and endless bans. The very fact that it exists is a miracle. It is difficult to look at the film outside the context of the director's fate, but this is an exceptionally strong and courageous work that is far from being limited to a political message.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig works as a detective story about a missing weapon, as a drama about the breakdown of a family, and as a parable about the fate of a country.

First and foremost, however, it is a deeply humanistic movie that reflects on the fate of hundreds of thousands of oppressed people and notes that the ruthless regime kills both opponents and supporters.