Iran’s among top foreign-language films

A BBC poll has shown that four movies from Iranian directors are placed among the 100 greatest foreign-language films.

‘A Separation’ (2011), the acclaimed Oscar-winning drama by Asghar Farhadi is the 21st in the ranking based on the poll published on Tuesday.

‘Close-Up’ (1990), ‘Where Is the Friend’s Home?’ (1987) and ‘Taste of Cherry’ (1997), all by late-great filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, are respectively gained the 39th, 94th, and 97th rankings.

The legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954) is the first and ‘Bicycle Thieves’ (1948) by Vittorio de Sica, a leader of the neorealist movement of Italy, as well as ‘Tokyo Story’ (1953) by Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu took the second and third spots.

“We asked critics to vote for their favorite movies made primarily in a language other than English,” BBC said.

“The 209 critics who took part are from 43 different countries and speak a total of 41 languages – a range that sets our poll apart from any other,” it added.

The 100 films are from 67 different directors from 24 countries. The movies are in 19 languages.

“French can claim to be the international language of acclaimed cinema: 27 of the highest-rated films were in French, followed by 12 in Mandarin, and 11 each in Italian and Japanese,” the poll showed.

Over the past few years, BBC has run three polls to find the 100 greatest American films, the best films of the 21st Century and the greatest comedies ever made.

BBC said that the purpose of every film poll has always been to generate debate as well as encourage discovery. “We are aware that no list can be either definitive or please everyone.”

MG/MG