How “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” Subverts the “Save the Woman” Trope | Options
Ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger donned a bulletproof vest and rifle to rescue his daughter in “Commando,” motion pictures have been clamoring with males—every with their very own Liam Neeson–esque “particular set of abilities”—whose paternal intuition has despatched them on more and more violent quests to guard younger ladies from the dangerous guys. The so-named Save the Girl subgenre’s problematic and inaccurate portrayals of immigrants and human trafficking apart (the controversy round final yr’s “Sound of Freedom” is a living proof), these movies are additionally often responsible of stripping their feminine characters of company.
However Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” flips this trope on its head. What begins out as a grounded home drama unexpectedly lurches into full-blown thriller territory when, within the movie’s final part, the central father determine, Iman (Missagh Zareh), is uncovered to not be a self-sacrificing defender of his two daughters however a spineless instrument of a misogynistic state. The movie is ready in opposition to a backdrop of protests following the real-life dying of a younger lady, Mahsa Amini, in custody in Iran—and Rasoulof’s figuring out subversion of the daddy savior trope is cleverly deployed to point out how even males with an ethical compass can finally bow down beneath the load of a patriarchal regime.
The kernel for the high-octane ultimate act in “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is planted early on when a gun winds up within the dwelling of Iman. The conscientious father aspires to develop into a decide within the revolutionary courtroom, and his promotion to state investigator is the following step in the direction of attaining his ambition. However this rung of the ladder comes with its personal set of issues. Not least is the truth that Iman is required to log off on dying penalty judgments indiscriminately with out a lot as a cursory look at case proof. Upon elevating this along with his superiors, he’s informed to both obey or get sacked. The burden of this ethical dilemma takes its toll on him over the course of the movie, slowly reddening his eyes and lending a gray pallidness to his pores and skin. Ashamed, Iman spends increasingly time within the workplace to keep away from his household. As he succumbs to the desire of his employer, he’s compelled to take the firearm dwelling as important safety in opposition to the specter of the justly offended.
Somewhat than making him familial protector although—as would a weapon in most male-led thrillers—the gun serves to catastrophically unravel the bond between Iman, his spouse Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), and daughters. Fault strains start to point out at a household dinner the place Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) pushes again in opposition to the biased reporting across the protests, and her father retorts by blaming her progressive beliefs on “international parts.” Regardless of his qualms along with his job, Iman by no means as soon as questions the integrity of the “God’s regulation” he sanctions, whereas the movies trickling by means of Rezvan and her sister Sana’s (Setareh Maleki) social media feeds enlighten them to a really completely different model of actuality. The film was predominantly shot inside (partly to evade the authorities. Iman believes the extra he shields his daughters from the surface world, the safer they’ll be—however satirically, he’s their best risk.
It’s when the gun goes lacking that the strain climbs a number of notches to an nearly insufferable stage. After scouring the home and quizzing his household, the steadfast investigator’s suspicion falls on his daughters. In “Taken” or “You Were Never Really Here,” inquisition-style strategies would solely be used on an unknown enemy, however Rasoulof’s horrific twist is that Iman wields such draconian interrogation strategies to wrangle a confession from his personal youngsters. Failing to seek out the offender and in a flurry of paranoia, Iman takes off along with his household to what we consider will likely be a safehouse—his childhood dwelling—out within the desert. However there, they’re actually not secure from their father’s coercion into admitting they stole the gun all to be captured by a camcorder, earlier than he swiftly locks Rezvan and Najmeh up in two prison-like cells the home handily has in-built.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” incorporates a concluding recreation of cat and mouse, which hammers dwelling the madness of the oppressive regime it depicts. Between the automotive chase which precedes the movie’s ultimate chapter and the compelled taped confessions, the realism of the film’s starting is left behind within the mud. This surrealism crescendos as the ladies clamber over the ruins of a historic village, Kharanaq, whereas the daddy pursues them on foot—his intent unclear however very clearly malevolent. Iman at this second represents the patriarchy in its most unalloyed kind, because the trio of ladies symbolically wends their means by means of the wreckage of previous Iran. Although Rasoulof intentionally leaves this father’s goal ambiguous, what’s plain is that he’s not at all one of many male rescuers of yore, with a coronary heart of gold and near-superhuman power. And these ladies are greater than able to saving themselves.
