Hi. I am a fan of iranian cinema. And I have been watching iranian movies with subs. Lately with iflmtv I have seen some dubbed in English. I really love them. Ok. My favs include, "The Willow Tree" (2005) "God's Color" (1999), "A Cube of Sugar" (2011), "The Children of Heaven" (1997), "The Last Bachelor" (2010) and "Gold and Copper" (2011) etc. So, have you seen those or other iranian movies? If yes, can you tell me about them. Thanks in advance.

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The White Balloon

I won't pretend I'm not a novice. A Separation was my favorite film of 2011, and This Is Not A Film was funny and hopeful in the face of grim reality.

The only one I've seen is A Separation. I think it's superb and the best foreign language film I've seen since Pan's Labyrinth and The Lives of Others in 2006.

Offside (2006) is the only one I can recall.

It's about women sneaking into a sports arena where women are forbidden in order to watch soccer games.

For those who liked A Separation, I suggest you seek out the documentary Divorce Iranian Style which spends a few weeks in a divorce court in Iran.

It is on DVD in the UK paired with another doc called Runaway which visits a shelter for runaway girls who are fleeing abusive families.

Both docs are excellent and really give you an insight into what it is like for women in Iran.

One of my favorites of recent years is Mani Haghighi's پذيرايي ساده (Modest Reception) which is one of the more surreal movies (from any country).

I also saw Rasoulof's Goodbye (also titled Bé omid é didar), but that one did not connect with me.

Hi. Thank you for your replies They are all good movies
But, I think most of the movies mentioned above are advertised more though iranians have better movies. Maybe because of the political agendas of governments, I don't know.. but, the famous ones in western countries usually portray iranian nation unhappy, thus wanting to flee from the country though it is not true. But, I wouldn't expect much from governments that censored even an innocent HSBC ads about "4% of American films being made by women whereas in Iran it is 25 %". I believe they don't want us to see iran as it is. Sorry for rambling. Thanks again for your suggestions

Hi. Thank you for your reply.
I see.. Wll, maybe you don't want to see them. But, there are a lot of people out there (especially among the elderly) who are bored of those "rollicking" ones. Anyway, there's no arguing about tastes. But, I am thinking, one should not believe his/her culture is universal, thus expect from others the same thing. Thanks again

I have only seen one and I consider it a masterpiece :

Watched Persepolis just a few weeks ago. Not exactly an Iranian movie per se, but close enough!

In my estimation, Iran has an extremely rich film culture - it has consistently produced some of the most interesting films in the world over the last 40 years.

I don't love the direction his career has taken over the last 15 years, but I still consider Abbas Kiarostami one of the greatest living directors - primarily for Close-up, the Koker Trilogy, and some of his early films like The Traveler.

Some of my other favorite Iranian directors: Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi, Majid Majidi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

There are also a surprising number of female directors from the country. It's a short film, but Forough Farrokhzad's The House Is Black is one of the most beautiful and moving films I've ever seen.

I haven't seen it, but I regret passing up Stray Dogs when I saw saw it at Blockbuster's going out of business sale.

Hi. Thank you all for your replies
And, inri, yes, it is a masterpiece. And as sondheim says, Abbas Kiarostami and others, especially Majid Majidi is great. Thanks again for your suggestions

I adore Iranian cinema. Kiarostami, the Makhmalbaf clan... My favourite Iranian film, though, is probably The Runner (a.k.a. Davandeh), a beautiful 1984 piece from Amir Naderi about an abandoned (orphaned?) boy struggling to survive and maintain his spirit in an unnamed city on the Persian Gulf (perhaps Bushehr). It's close to a masterpiece.
Also great are Willow and Wind, by Mohammad-Ali Talebi, and Kiarostami's And Life Goes On.

Thank you, except for "the Runner" I did not see the others.. I will definitely check them. Thanks again

I really like Abbas Kiarostami's 'Ten'

also:
'Turtles Can Fly'

Hi. Thanks for your contribution. I did not know about "Ten". Thanks. And, I saw "Turtles Can Fly", and it is a sad one.

I saw the movie, "the Maritime Silk Road" recently. It is amazing. I totally suggest it.

The only one I recall seeing (and owning) is Babak Payami's Secret Ballot. I was expecting it to be more of a comedy (no thanks to the cover art), but I enjoyed it for the most part (despite it feeling a good bit longer than 100 minutes).

I've seen Kiarostami's "Where is the Friend's House" or however it was titled. It was a good movie, simple but really showed the kid's dilemma and his life.

^Yes, I like that one a lot, too.