--- title: "The Seed of the Sacred Fig: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 22 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 22 reviews: 18 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics are on the film’s side, and none of the reviews turn against it. They describe a family drama that becomes a domestic thriller once the state’s paranoia gets inside the flat, and they take the household as a stand-in for the country. Praise clusters on the cast, above all Soheila Golestani as the mother Najmeh, whose slow loss of certainty several critics single out as the film’s centre. Rasoulof’s unflashy direction and his use of real protest footage also draw approval. The reservations gather around the last act, which even admirers call overblown, and which a few find slips into a more ordinary thriller and upsets the earlier balance. A handful think the allegory too blunt and the opening didactic. The spread is narrow and tilted upward: four reviews are mixed, none negative. Paste goes furthest, finding the film obvious and its characters flat; Slant judges the symbolism overloaded. ## Evening Standard — Nick Howells Rating 5/5. 6 February 2025. Howells calls the film gripping, intelligent and essential viewing, despite noting that some may find its finale excessive. He singles out Soheila Golestani’s restrained performance and the tense, escalating family crisis for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-iran-mohammad-rasoulof-oscars-b1209310.html) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 5/5. 24 May 2024. The review presents the film as a masterly, exceptionally bold family drama. It singles out its forceful attack on Iran’s repressive state. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-2024) ## IndieWire — Ryan Lattanzio Rating A-. 27 November 2024. Festival review. Lattanzio calls the film a shattering masterwork and an ultimately hopeful allegory about repression. He praises its gripping domestic-thriller descent and the understated, courageous performances. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulof-1235008351/) ## The AV Club — Matt Schimkowitz Rating A-. 27 November 2024. The review finds the film an unpredictable domestic thriller where personal life and politics are inseparable. It praises the way Rasoulof builds paranoia inside the family’s apartment and turns the household into a microcosm of the country. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2025. Freer calls the film a bold, timely and gripping achievement. He particularly praises how its understated performances and unflashy filmmaking connect the personal and political. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/seed-of-the-sacred-fig/) ## Los Angeles Times — Tim Grierson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2024. Grierson finds the drama absorbing, grim and ultimately cathartic in its portrayal of repression entering family life. He especially praises Soheila Golestani’s moving performance as a mother whose unquestioned beliefs begin to unravel. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-27/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-iran-mohammad-rasoulof) ## The New Yorker — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 November 2024. Chang finds the film a blistering, empathetic epic whose strained final turns still prove powerful. He especially praises Najmeh’s compassion as she tends to her daughter’s wounded friend, a moment that gives the story’s moral conflict profound human weight. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-current-cinema/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-is-a-shattering-epic-of-reproach) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Rating Critics Pick. 24 May 2024. Festival review. Debruge praises the film as a masterful, suspenseful allegory about authoritarianism and family, despite a slightly didactic opening. He singles out Rasoulof’s focus on family tensions as the source of the story’s personal force. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulof-1236015287/) ## Vulture — Roxana Hadadi Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2024. Hadadi regards the film as a forceful, tense political thriller and an ode to Iranian girls’ and women’s resistance. She especially praises its focus on the young women’s perspectives and the performances in confrontations with their parents. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-wants-you-to-be-furious.html) ## Sight and Sound — BFI Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 June 2024. Festival review. The review finds the film an eloquent, unnerving warning about authoritarian power and the struggle for freedom. It praises the performances and surefooted family drama, especially the daughters’ dinner-table confrontation with their father. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/seed-sacred-fig-mohammad-rasoulofs-domestic-thriller-elegant-warning-iranian-regime) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2024. Festival review. Mintzer finds the film a forceful, deeply personal indictment of Iran’s oppressive system, though its later turns can feel over the top. He praises how Rasoulof uses horror and thriller elements to connect one family’s unraveling with the country’s political violence. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulof-1235907982/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2025. Bradshaw finds the film flawed but courageous and urgently relevant. He praises its escalating portrayal of Iran’s misogyny and paranoia, while noting that some character motivations feel unconvincing. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/24/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulofs-arresting-tale-of-violence-and-paranoia-in-iran) ## Little White Lies — Mark Asch Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. Asch finds the film timely, anguished and ultimately cathartic, though its later turn sacrifices some of the earlier ensemble balance. He praises the real protest footage for giving the story the raw feeling of an unfolding response. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-first-look-review) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2024. Festival review. Romney presents the film as flawed but urgent. He praises its exposure of societal tensions within Iran. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-cannes-review/5194002.article) ## Slant Magazine — David Robb Rating 2.5/4. 8 September 2024. The critic finds the film impactful but blunt and unwieldy, with its overloaded allegory and tonal shift weakening the overall result. He praises its balanced portrayal of competing perspectives and the invigorating force of its political indictment. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulof/) ## Collider — Chase Hutchinson Rating 9/10. 24 May 2024. Festival review. Hutchinson calls the film a radical triumph and an essential work of cinema. He especially praises Rasoulof’s bold direction and the riveting performances that make the family’s turmoil mirror the political crisis. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulof/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2024. Festival review. The critic calls the film a standout, profoundly brave work, though somewhat didactic and not subtle. They praise its symbolic visuals and found-footage depictions of state repression and youth courage. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review/) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating ★★★★. 3 February 2025. Concannon praises the film as a vital act of defiance against an oppressive regime. He singles out Soheila Golestani’s nuanced, moving performance as Najmeh. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig) ## Deadline — Stephanie Bunbury Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2024. Festival review. Bunbury finds the film politically urgent and an enjoyable, if overblown, melodrama. She particularly praises the cast’s exceptional performances and the palpable energy created by the risks involved in making it. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/05/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-cannes-1235938200/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 March 2025. Wilkinson finds the film grittily compelling, though its overlong final act slips into formulaic thriller territory. She particularly praises Soheila Golestani’s nuanced performance as a mother whose loyalties shift toward her daughters. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-2024-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2024. The page appears to be a review, but its verdict cannot be determined because access was blocked. No praise or criticism from the article is available to summarize. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review-mohammad-rasoulofs-searing-indictment-of-modern-iran-cannes-20240524/) ## Paste — Katarina Docalovich Rating 5.0. 19 August 2024. Docalovich finds the film disappointingly obvious and less challenging than its subject and production history suggest. She praises the cinematography’s harrowing quality but criticizes the flat characterization and blunt symbolism. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/mohammad-rasoulof/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-seed-of-the-sacred-fig.md