must-see iranian movies
by bennyth | created - 1 month ago | updated - 1 month ago | Publicafter revolution (i didnt see before revolution movies) this list is very personal without order
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1. As Simple as That (2008)
PG | 93 min | Drama
Tomorrow is an important day for Amir. He had participated in an international architecture competition to win the competition with foreign companies. His wife ,Tahereh (Hengameh Ghaziani),... See full summary »
Director: Reza Mirkarimi | Stars: Hengameh Ghaziani, Mehran Kashani, Safa Aghajani, Parvaneh Ahmadi
Votes: 1,526
2. A Cube of Sugar (2011)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The story happens in an old house in an old city of Iran. Because of the wedding of the youngest sister, Pasandide, all of her sisters come to their old house to help their mother.
Director: Reza Mirkarimi | Stars: Reza Kianian, Negar Javaherian, Farhad Aslani, Saeed Poursamimi
Votes: 4,254
3. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Behzad Dorani, Noghre Asadi, Roushan Karam Elmi, Bahman Ghobadi
Votes: 12,325 | Gross: $0.21M
4. Taste of Cherry (1997)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
An Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he commits suicide.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolhosein Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Votes: 36,792 | Gross: $0.31M
5. The Story of Davood and the Dove (2011)
90 min | Drama
A man named Davood has to record the sound of a dove, but in the meantime is faced with numerous challenges.
Director: Ida Panahandeh | Stars: Hadis Mir-Amini, Reza Molaee, Hosein Razi, Houman Seyyedi
Votes: 34
6. Children of Heaven (1997)
PG | 89 min | Drama, Family, Sport
After a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi
Votes: 80,740 | Gross: $0.93M
7. The Color of Paradise (1999)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Family
The story of Mohammed, a blind Iranian boy and his father, Hashem, who is always oscillating between accepting his son as he is and abandoning him, as he represents a burden for him, after the loss of his wife.
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Hossein Mahjoub, Mohsen Ramezani, Salameh Feyzi, Farahnaz Safari
Votes: 18,205 | Gross: $1.81M
8. Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989)
120 min | Drama, War
An Iranian boy is lost after fleeing home for his life; his family has been killed during the Iran-Iraq war. He's saved and trained by a middle-aged woman.
Director: Bahram Beyzaie | Stars: Susan Taslimi, Parviz Poorhosseini, Adnan Afravian, Golshan Anooshe
Votes: 3,205
9. Killing Mad Dogs (2001)
135 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
While the post-revolution frenzy is at its peak in Iran, a woman attempts to help her secretive husband out of jail by settling his debts for him on her own.
Director: Bahram Beyzaie | Stars: Mozhdeh Shamsai, Majid Mozaffari, Reza Kianian, Mitra Hajjar
Votes: 2,947
10. A Separation (2011)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 258,621 | Gross: $7.10M
11. Hit the Road (2021)
93 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Follows a chaotic, tender family that is on a road trip across a rugged landscape and fussing over the sick dog and getting on each others' nerves. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet.
Director: Panah Panahi | Stars: Pantea Panahiha, Mohammad Hassan Madjooni, Rayan Sarlak, Amin Simiar
Votes: 6,488
12. 3 Faces (2018)
100 min | Drama
Three actresses at different stages of their career. One from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, one popular star of today known throughout the country, and a young girl longing to attend a drama conservatory.
Director: Jafar Panahi | Stars: Behnaz Jafari, Jafar Panahi, Marziyeh Rezaei, Maedeh Erteghaei
Votes: 4,794 | Gross: $0.07M
13. A Man of Integrity (2017)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama
A drama about corruption and injustice in Iranian society. You are the oppressed, or you have to join the oppressor to survive.
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof | Stars: Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee, Nasim Adabi, Zeinab Shabani
Votes: 2,658
14. There Is No Evil (2020)
151 min | Drama
The four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof | Stars: Zhila Shahi, Baran Rasoulof, Mahtab Servati, Ehsan Mirhosseini
Votes: 6,163
15. A Few Kilos of Dates for a Funeral (2006)
85 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Two desperate men watching a wrecked petrol station for government, whilst looking for their strange loves.
Director: Saman Salur | Stars: Mohsen Tanabandeh, Nader Fallah, Mohsen Namjoo, Mahmoud Nazaralian
Votes: 1,231
16. The Circle (2000)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Various women struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran.
Director: Jafar Panahi | Stars: Maryiam Palvin Almani, Nargess Mamizadeh, Mojgan Faramarzi, Elham Saboktakin
Votes: 6,684 | Gross: $0.67M
17. African Violet (2019)
93 min | Drama
When Fereydoun's children put him in a nursing home, his ex-wife Shokoo takes him to her house although her new husband does not quite approve.
Director: Mona Zandi Haqiqi | Stars: Fatemah Motamed-Aria, Saeed Aghakhani, Reza Babak, Mehdi Hosseininia
Votes: 458
18. Melbourne (2014)
91 min | Drama
The film recounts the story of a young couple on their way to Melbourne to continue their studies. However, just a few hours before the departure of their flight, they are unintentionally involved in a tragic event.
Director: Nima Javidi | Stars: Payman Maadi, Negar Javaherian, Mani Haghighi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh
Votes: 2,025
19. The Warden (2019)
87 min | Drama, History, Mystery
A prison is about to be evacuated to make room for an airport expansion project. Major Jahed and his officers are busy transferring all inmates to the new facility, but one inmate is missing.
Director: Nima Javidi | Stars: Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar, Setareh Pesyani, Mani Haghighi
Votes: 7,558
20. Turtles Can Fly (2004)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, War
Near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.
Director: Bahman Ghobadi | Stars: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Hiresh Feysal Rahman
Votes: 20,763 | Gross: $0.26M
21. Hamoun (1990)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama
Hamoon's wife is leaving him. He is also unsuccessfully trying to finish his Ph. D. thesis. He is forced to reexamine his life. In a series of flashbacks and dreams, Hamoon tries to figure out what he did wrong.
Director: Dariush Mehrjui | Stars: Khosro Shakibai, Ezzatolah Entezami, Hossein Sarshar, Bita Farahi
Votes: 7,247
22. Fish & Cat (2013)
134 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A number of students have traveled to the Caspian region in order to participate in a kite-flying event during the winter solstice. Next to their camp is a small hut occupied by three cooks who work at a nearby restaurant.
Director: Shahram Mokri | Stars: Babak Karimi, Saeed Ebrahimifar, Siavash Cheraghi Pour, Mohammad Berahmani
Votes: 2,880
23. The Painting Pool (2013)
PG | 92 min | Drama, Romance
Maryam (Negar Javaherian) and Reza (Shahab Hosseini) are different from other people, it's not just a simple difference, but a very big difference. They must try to prove to others they ... See full summary »
Director: Maziar Miri | Stars: Seyed Mahmoud Chaharsoughi, Siamak Ehsaii, Sepahrad Farzami, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 5,450
24. Tambourine (2008)
110 min | Comedy, Drama
Mohammad is sent to an apartment situated in uptown Tehran to install their satellite dishes, while having satellite TV is illegal in Iran. He arrives there with a girl named Shirin who ... See full summary »
Director: Parisa Bakhtavar | Stars: Baran Kosari, Saber Abar, Mehran Modiri, Amin Hayayee
Votes: 4,605
25. A Hairy Tale (2019)
102 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
Danesh works in a barbershop and dreams about becoming an actor. Manfered is an agent who would introduce Danesh to a famous director if he collects enough long hairs to be used as wigs. At... See full summary »
Director: Homayoun Ghanizadeh | Stars: Ali Nasirian, Saber Abar, Babak Hamidian, Reza Kianian
Votes: 1,405
26. So Close, So Far (2005)
121 min | Drama
Dr. Alam, a very profiled specialist in neurology and a successful surgeon, is drowned in his professional and social work, in a way that he has totally forgotten all about his son Saman. ... See full summary »
Director: Reza Mirkarimi | Stars: Alireza Phoenix, Masoud Rayegan, Afshin Hashemi, Farbod Masoud Vaziri
Votes: 2,847
27. Close-Up (1990)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah
Votes: 23,033 | Gross: $0.00M
28. No Men Allowed (2011)
102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
This movie is about a strict girls high school whose faculties are all female. After the maternity leave of a chemistry teacher, the principal has to bent the rules for the presence of a male teacher in the girls high school.
Director: Rambod Javan | Stars: Reza Attaran, Vishka Asayesh, Pegah Ahangarani, Mani Haghighi
Votes: 7,830
29. The Song of Sparrows (2008)
PG | 96 min | Drama, Family
When an ostrich-rancher focuses on replacing his daughter's hearing aid, which breaks right before crucial exams, everything changes for a struggling rural family in Iran. Karim motorbikes ... See full summary »
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Mohammad Amir Naji, Maryam Akbari, Kamran Dehghan, Hamid Aghazi
Votes: 11,113 | Gross: $0.12M
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