Tehran – A new list entitled “100 Best Films of the 21st Century” was published this week by the New York Times. The 2011 Iranian drama film “A Separation” was written and directed by Asghar Farhadi in the top 50.
Farhadi’s Oscar-winning film is the only Iranian film to be on the list and ranked 33rd, Honaron Line reported.
“A Separation” is placed on famous films such as “Amélie” (2001) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (41st place) and “Amélie” (2001) by Inception (2010).
Starring Leila Hatami, Payman Madi, Shahab Hoseini, Sale Bayat and Sarina Farhadi, “Separation” is a fascinating drama about the breakup of marriage.
Set in modern Iran, the film revolves around middle-class Iranian couples. Simin wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Tar Tar. Simin sues for divorce when Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer’s father. Her request fails, so Shimin returns to her parents’ house, but Terte decides to stay in Nadar. When Nader hires a young woman to support his father in the absence of his wife, he hopes that his life will return to normal. However, when he discovers that a new maid is lying to him, he realizes there is more than his marriage.
The film premiered at the 29th FAJR International Film Festival in Tehran on February 9, 2011, and won the Crystal Simoog Award for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Director of Cinematography and Best Sound Recorder. It also won the audience’s favourite film award.
“A Separation” won the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win an award. It won the Golden Bear of the Silver Bears and the Golden Bears for Best Actresses and Best Actors at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Iranian film to win Golden Bear. It also won the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Foreign Language Films for Golden Globes and Best Feature Films. The film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for the Academy Awards, making it the first non-English film in five years to achieve this.
The film has received universal acclaim from film critics. Currently, he holds a 99% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is based on 176 reviews with an average rating of 8.90/10. The website’s key consensus states that “it’s morally complex, suspenseful, and that “separation” captures the messiness of the dissolving relationship between sharp insights and burning strength.” The site ranked 24th in the 2025 “Best Movies of All 300 Best Movies” list. Based on 41 reviews, it has a score of 95 on Metallic, making it the best reviewed film of 2011.
Sight & Sound Magazine has included the film in its list of “30 Great Movies of the 2000s.” “Segregation” was called the ninth best film of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC critic’s poll. In 2018, the film ranked 21st on the BBC’s list of “100 Best Foreign Language Films of All Time”. In 2019, The Guardian was ranked 36th on the “100 Best Movies of the 21st Century” list. In 2022, Sight and Sound ranked 72nd in the film on “All List of Directors’ 100 Largest Films.”
The New York Times voted over 500 people while compiling this list. Participants were called people who worked in the film industry, including screenwriters, directors, actors and critics from around the world. Each was asked to name the 10 best films released on January 1, 2000. Their votes were compiled to create a ranked list of 100 films that stood the test of time.
The top three films on the list include Bong Jun Ho’s Parasites (2019), David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Blood (2007) (2007).
This list isn’t just about celebrations for beloved titles. This reflects where the film has gone over the last 25 years, across languages, boundaries and genres.
SS/SAB