The Best Iranian Movies of all Time
by iranvolley | created - 28 Oct 2016 | updated - 28 Oct 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. About Elly (2009)
TV-PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
The mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Taraneh Alidoosti, Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini, Merila Zare'i
Votes: 57,170 | Gross: $0.11M
2. 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: 23,020 | Gross: $0.00M
3. The Glass Agency (1998)
114 min | Action, Drama, Romance
The Glass Agency is the story of a war veteran living in post war Iran. It depicts veterans who are suffering from social problems after the war. Society does not understand them and the ... See full summary »
Director: Ebrahim Hatamikia | Stars: Parviz Parastui, Reza Kianian, Habib Rezaei, Ghasem Zare
Votes: 7,265
4. 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
5. 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: 4,253
6. The Willow Tree (2005)
PG | 96 min | Drama
Youssef, a blind university professor, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease and must undergo treatment in France. Back home, will he find the life he had before?
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Parviz Parastui, Roya Teymourian, Soghra Obeisi, Mohammad Amir Naji
Votes: 4,526 | Gross: $0.03M
7. Snake's Fang (1990)
105 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Reza, the veteran worker of a print house whose sight is adversely affected because of his job, loses his mother. Finding the gloom reigning over the home beyond bearing, he departs to ... See full summary »
Director: Masud Kimiai | Stars: Faramarz Sadighi, Golchehre Sajadieh, Ahmad Najafi, Fariba Kowsari
Votes: 285
8. Captain Khorshid (1987)
118 min | Crime, Drama
Khaje Majed informs the authorities about Captain Khorshid smuggling with his ship. The authorities take the smuggling and burn it. Farhan is a new arriver in the port. He wants to smuggle ... See full summary »
Director: Nasser Taghvai | Stars: Dariush Arjmand, Ali Nasirian, Saeed Poursamimi, Parvaneh Massoumi
Votes: 1,235
9. Duel (II) (2004)
133 min | Action, Drama, War
The story of Zeinal, a man who after 20 years of being a POW, tries to clear up his past.
Director: Ahmad Reza Darvish | Stars: Saeed Rad, Pejman Bazeghi, Parivash Nazarieh, Parviz Parastui
Votes: 1,379
10. Gheisar (1969)
100 min | Crime, Drama
A young man's drive to avenge for his sister and brother.
Director: Masud Kimiai | Stars: Behrouz Vossoughi, Pouri Baneai, Naser Malek Motiee, Jamshid Mashayekhi
Votes: 3,766
11. Tight Spot (1973)
114 min | Drama, Thriller
This film, based on a well-known novel of the same name by Sadegh Chooback, is about a wronged man seeking revenge. Director Amir Naderi's inspiration for making the film was one of his ... See full summary »
Director: Amir Naderi | Stars: Behrouz Vossoughi, Parviz Fanizadeh, Jafar Vali, Enayat Bakhshi
Votes: 875
12. Hajji Washington (1983)
98 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A loyal and simple-minded statesman is appointed as the first Iranian ambassador in the U.S. but soon starts to lose his mind from homesickness and inaction.
Director: Ali Hatami | Stars: Ezzatolah Entezami, Richard Harrison, Russel Case, Mario Donatone
Votes: 767
13. The Lizard (2004)
115 min | Comedy, Drama
A recently jailed petty thief disguises as a Mullah and succeeds in escaping; but has to stay in the Mullah' role longer than he expected to.
Director: Kamal Tabrizi | Stars: Parviz Parastui, Bahram Ebrahimi, Reza Saeedi, Shahrokh Foroutanian
Votes: 22,452
14. 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
15. Crazy Rook (2015)
110 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A group of people who met on social media are forced to work together when one of them commits a crime which if not solved, will concern all of them.
Director: Abolhassan Davoodi | Stars: Tannaz Tabatabaei, Saber Abar, Saed Soheili, Nazanin Bayati
Votes: 2,646
16. 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: 11,108 | Gross: $0.12M
17. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Family
Eight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Khodabakhsh Defaei, Iran Outari
Votes: 18,708
18. Mom's Guest (2004)
103 min | Comedy, Drama
A mother of a poor family, has guests coming over, yet doesn't know how to get the dinner party altogether with limited resources.
Director: Dariush Mehrjui | Stars: Golab Adineh, Parsa Pirouzfar, Amin Hayayee, Hassan Pourshirazi
Votes: 4,677
19. Offside (2006)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
The struggle of women in a country that excludes them from entering stadiums.
Director: Jafar Panahi | Stars: Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Mohammad Asarian
Votes: 8,607 | Gross: $0.18M
20. The Cyclist (1989)
82 min | Drama
The wife of Nasim, an Afghan immigrant in Iran, is gravely ill. He needs money to pay for her care, but his day labor digging wells does not pay enough. A friend connects Nasim to a two-bit... See full summary »
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Stars: Mahshid Afsharzadeh, Firouz Kiani, Samira Makhmalbaf, Mohammad Reza Maleki
Votes: 2,340
21. The Cow (1969)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama
An old villager deeply in love with his cow goes to the capital for a while. While he's there, the cow dies and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns.
Director: Dariush Mehrjui | Stars: Ezzatolah Entezami, Mahin Shahabi, Ali Nasirian, Jamshid Mashayekhi
Votes: 7,988
22. The Longest Night (2001)
85 min | Drama
Hamed is unemployed. Meanwhile, his wife and daughter immigrate to Europe for a better future. Missing his family, he imprisons himself and starts to revise his life in isolation.
Director: Kiumars Poorahmad | Stars: Elham Charkhandeh, Mohammad Reza Forutan, Hilda Hashempour, Maryam Poorahmad
Votes: 672
23. 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: 36,776 | Gross: $0.31M
24. The Maritime Silk Road (2011)
114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young student of Shiraz university joins Captain Soleiman on a maritime journey to China in 11th BC.
Director: Muhammad Bozorgnia | Stars: Pegah Ahangarani, Dariush Arjmand, Hashem Azar Hava, Habib Bakhtiari
Votes: 506
25. The Fish Fall in Love (2005)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance
After 22 years, Aziz decides to return to his hometown, to sell some family possessions, including the house where he was born. But for his astonishment, the place is now a small restaurant... See full summary »
Director: Ali Rafie | Stars: Reza Kianian, Roya Nonahali, Golshifteh Farahani, Maryam Saadat
Votes: 1,112
26. White Nights (2003)
103 min | Drama, Romance
Bright Nights is the story of the lives of two lonely people. The film tells the story of how the two characters met, became attached and separated from the language of a university professor.
Director: Farzad Motamen | Stars: Mehdi Ahmadi, Hanieh Tavassoli, Mohsen Shah-Ebrahimi, Hilda Hashempour
Votes: 1,461
27. Night Bus (2007)
90 min | Drama, Romance, War
Two young Iranian soldiers guard a bus load of prisoners of war on a trip to prison.
Director: Kiumars Poorahmad | Stars: Khosro Shakibai, Mohammad Reza Forutan, Amir Mohammad Zand, Elnaz Shakerdoost
Votes: 630
28. The Tenants (1987)
109 min | Comedy, Drama
The tenants of a rundown building on the outskirts of Tehran with no legal heir face major housing problems to deal with: major repairs and threat of eviction by greedy building manager who wants to own the building.
Director: Dariush Mehrjui | Stars: Akbar Abdi, Ezzatolah Entezami, Faramarz Fardtombekian, Farimah Farjami
Votes: 2,753
29. 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: 258,562 | Gross: $7.10M
30. Gabbeh (1996)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
When an old couple washes their gabbeh - a type of Persian rug - a young woman magically appears and tells them her life story.
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Stars: Shaghayeh Djodat, Hossein Moharami, Rogheih Moharami, Abbas Sayah
Votes: 3,667 | Gross: $0.27M
31. 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: 4,601
32. Border Café (2005)
107 min | Drama, Romance
"Cafe Transit" depicts an independent-minded widow who bucks tradition to run her dead husband's truck stop café.
Director: Kambuzia Partovi | Stars: Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Parviz Parastui, Nikos Papadopoulos, Svieta Mikalishina
Votes: 2,172
33. Felicity Land (2011)
90 min | Drama
A look at the lives of 3 well-off Iranian couples who are ostensibly living an idyllic life and are going to have a get-together for a birthday party. Each couple bearing their own sordid ... See full summary »
Director: Maziar Miri | Stars: Mahnaz Afshar, Amir Aghaee, Hamed Behdad, Hengameh Ghaziani
Votes: 2,039
34. Trapped (2013)
103 min | Drama, Thriller
This fascinating moral thriller is centered on the bristling relationship between two very different young women in contemporary Tehran. Moving to the city for her studies and desperate for... See full summary »
Director: Parviz Shahbazi | Stars: Nazanin Bayati, Pegah Ahangarani, Behrang Alavi, Ahmad Mehranfar
Votes: 1,199
35. Iron Island (2005)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Some poor people in the Southern coasts of Iran do not have any place to live, and thus, they reside on an old, abandoned ship in the sea. Captain Nemat, their chief, tries to persuade the ... See full summary »
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof | Stars: Ali Nasirian, Hossein Farzizade, Neda Pakdaman, Didar Razzaghi Shirazi
Votes: 998 | Gross: $0.02M
36. Golchehreh (2011)
100 min | Drama
Based on a true story about Taliban in Afghanistan and how they tried to destroy their National film archive and closing the movie houses.
Director: Vahid Mousaian | Stars: Hojjatollah Alipour, Zeinab Dehghan, Fatemeh Eslami, Afshin Hashemi
Votes: 168
37. Maxx (2005)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Musical
An invitation for a famous Iranian bandmaster, Maxx, living in a foreign country, is accidentally sent to a young cabaret singer with the same name.
Director: Saman Moghadam | Stars: Farhad Aeesh, Reza Ahadi, Pegah Ahangarani, Morteza Akbari
Votes: 1,007
38. Still Life (1974)
93 min | Drama
The daily life of Mohammad Sardari(Zadour Bonyadi) , a railway switchman on the verge of retirement, who lives with his wife and soldier son near the railway track.
Director: Sohrab Shahid Saless | Stars: Zadour Bonyadi, Mohammed Kani, Hedayatollah Navid, Hibibollah Safarian
Votes: 1,327
39. Penniless (2009)
108 min | Comedy, Drama
A haughty acclaimed newly married fashion designer named Iraj is shown the door by his boss after the boss's son arrives at Iran to take over his father's company. Iraj reluctant to ... See full summary »
Director: Hamid Nematollah | Stars: Bahram Radan, Leila Hatami, Nader Fallah, Siamak Ansari
Votes: 2,686
40. Girl's Dormitory (2004)
96 min | Drama, Horror
Story of two friends Roya and Shirin who are abut to enter the college in a city near Tehran. They rent a house but little by little they begin to notice some horrible problems and disappearing of the newly brides.
Director: Mohammad Hossein Latifi | Stars: Baran Kosari, Majid Salehi, Sadegh Safaie, Negar Javaherian
Votes: 666
41. A House Built on Water (2002)
108 min | Drama, Fantasy
A surrealist story about Dr. Sepidbakht who one night when driving hit an angel with his car and his hand is injured deeply by touching that angel's fingers. He has several problems in his ... See full summary »
Director: Bahman Farmanara | Stars: Ezzatolah Entezami, Reza Kianian, Hediyeh Tehrani, Jamshid Mashayekhi
Votes: 1,260
42. A Man Like Rain (1997)
90 min | Drama, War
Mansor Ghasemi an Iranian leader is captured by the Iraqis. But in the camp they don't know him so a spy is hired to go among the Iranian captures and recognize him. The Iranians manage to ... See full summary »
Director: Saeed Soheili | Stars: Abolfazl Poorarab, Hossein Ansari, Fatemeh Sameti, Hamid Taleghani
Votes: 55
43. The Wooden Bridge (2012)
98 min | Drama, Romance
Wooden Bridge was a passage over the northern trench of old Tehran, connecting the capital to the countryside of Shemiran. A connection between old Tehran and modern Tehran.
Director: Mehdi Karampour | Stars: Bahram Radan, Mahnaz Afshar, Farhad Aslani, Mehran Modiri
Votes: 1,524
44. Women's Prison (2002)
106 min | Drama