30/42
Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran
When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.. Director Mohammad Rasoulof was originally scheduled to take part in the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a jury member of the Un Certain Regard section . However, he was arrested in July 2022 after criticizing the government's crackdown on protestors in the southwestern city of Abadan in Iran over deadly building collapse. On May 8, 2024, Rasouloff's lawyer announced that he has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property. On May 12, 2024, Rasouloff announced that he managed to flee Iran and was staying at an undisclosed location in Europe.
Why?Najmeh: The world has changed
On May 24, 2024, Rasouloff attended the film's premiere in Cannes and on the red carpet he held up photos of two of the film's actors, Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh.. Iman: Sana wants to have blue hair? Painted nails? Kids think differently.Iman: The world has changed, but God has not. Nor his laws.Najmeh: We have to teach them.Iman: We always have..
Finally, the sacred fig stands on its own"
Opening credits: "Ficus Religiosa is a tree with an unusual life cycle. Its seeds, contained in bird droppings, fall on other trees. Aerial roots spring up and grow down to the floor. Then, the branches wrap around the host tree and strangle it. Two teenage daughters in a strictly traditional Iranian family see their own classmates treated in an oppressive manner by the law.
The film starts with their father obtaining a powerful position in the justice system where he has been a loyal employee for 20 years
His promotion in such a hated system makes him a target by revolutionary activists who are pushing back against Iran's oppressive courts. What follows is a family schism that threatens the very stability of their lives, especially after the father's gun mysteriously goes missing.Social media is the girls' true weapon against indoctrination and deception. In older generations, they would only have the slanted television news and their parents' religious browbeating to turn to, but their window into the outside world gives them the ammunition they need to question their upbringing and challenge oppressive authority.As westerners, we sometimes forget how fortunate we are. Watching a normal mishap escalate into such a diabolical family dispute is something that seems far more likely to take place in a society like Iran where women are still regarded with mistrust and men have the power to treat their entire family as mere defendants. While the film gives a voice to the oppressive father and the mother who is an obedient wife but who still loves her children, we never leave the daughters' perspective.
Recommended to the highest degree
They see a world in which they cannot be heard and their quiet rage finally gets sparked into fury. Masterfully directed and acted and not to be missed.