Seed of the Sacred Fig: nail-bitingly Poetic.

There are going to be moments so frustrating, so unashamedly long and tense to watch, that you are going to conteplate leaving the cinema.

As someone seeing it from the other end - you have nothing to fear. The film very rarely will jump scare you, so now, with that knowledge, go in ready to relax, and have your heart broken.

It’s tough to have sophisticated discussions about Iran’s regime in the western world - too many people are waist-deep invested in the wrong solutions, or using the realities of life in Iran as justification for yet more horrors and thuggery.

However, this film is eloquent and sophisticated in it’s portrayal, so you can sit and have your heart broken without wondering if this is all benefitting yet another group of oppressors. Instead, you can join the contradictions and metaphor at play, commiserate and mourn with the people of Iran, learn from them, and come away a more knowledgable and nuanced viewer.

Two of the castmembers of the film are unable to leave Iran, and my prayers are with them.