The American magazine The New Yorker and the film and television website The Playlist have issued separate lists containing the ‘50 Best Foreign Language Movies Of the 21st Century So Far’ where there are three Iranian films with good rankings.
Two movies by prominent filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (his last two works) ‘Like Someone in Love’ and ‘Certified Copy’ as well as Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar winning film ‘A Separation’ are in the lists, ISNA reported.
In the New Yorker’s list, Kiarostami’s ‘Like Someone in Love’ (2012) is ranked 3rd after Jean Luc Godard’s ‘In Praise of Love’ (2001) and Chantal Akerman’s ‘No Home Movie’ (2015) which stand 1st and 2nd respectively.
Kiarostami’s work is a wondrous, fable-like, yet pain-streaked film set in Japan (his second production outside Iran) which has received mostly positive reviews by critics. It holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Playlist also has Kiarostami’s ‘Certified Copy’ (2010) on its list featuring famous French actress Juliette Binoche. It is ranked 16th.
Set in Italy, it was Kiarostami’s first film made out of Iran. It premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where Binoche won the Best Actress Award for her performance.
Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’ (2011) stands in the 4th spot in the Playlist ranking. Besides winning the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film, it received the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival as well as the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, making it the first non-English film in five years to achieve this.
Considering all the achievements, its 4th position in the list is no surprise. Also Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ (2013) which was not in the top 50 has been called “pretty extraordinary” by The Playlist.
