Are you looking for the best movies to learn Spanish? Well, I’m not Netflix, but I can definitely give you a list!
Personally, I really like watching movies, and I usually prefer them over series, because I don’t have much time to catch up with long-season shows.
So when the weekend finally arrives, I set aside two hours each on Saturday and Sunday to watch a good film.
And I do it in English! Because I need to practice it and, like the saying goes, I like to kill two birds with a stone (btw, you can click here to learn popular sayings in Spanish for everyday life).
Are you ready to discover the best movies to watch in Spanish? Let’s go!
Best movies to learn Spanish
Now, I’m not an expert in films at all. I’m just a normal guy who likes relaxing at home after a long week.
Marvel movies will probably never make it to the list of films one should watch at least once in one’s lifetime (and Martin Scorsese claims they aren’t cinema), but I can always learn a new word or expression.
But of course, it’s really nice when you can enjoy a film that is well made, deep, meaningful, a piece of art. That way you can learn about culture, history, society, etc. beyond the language.
My students frequently ask me for recommendations for movies to watch in Spanish, and I can suggest a few titles, but not much more.
So how can I recommend the best movies to learn Spanish if I’m not an expert myself?
Well, I resort to those who know: he members of the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards committees in the US and in the UK respectively. They must know for sure why they choose the nominees!
Did you know, for instance, that since their creation in 1927, 45 films in Spanish have been nominated as best foreign-language films at the Academy Awards?
So here it is, the list of best films to learn Spanish, ordered by year and including the country of origin. The star (⭐) means that the movie was the winner in the category that year.
It is also a great opportunity to meet some of the most important actors in Spanish-language cinema!
Beyond Antonio Banderas, names like Ricardo Darín, Gael García Bernal, Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz are must-sees!
Academy Award nominees and winners by country
Argentina 🇦🇷
La tregua (Sergio Renán, 1974) – Drama/Romance
Camila (María Luisa, Bemberg, 1984) – Drama/Romance
La historia oficial (Luis Puenzo, 1985) ⭐ – Drama/History
Tango, no me dejes nunca (Carlos Saura, 1998) – Drama/Musical
El hijo de la novia (Juan José Campanella, 2001) – Comedy/Drama
El secreto de sus ojos (Juan José Campanella, 2009) ⭐ – Drama/Mystery/Romance
Relatos salvajes (Damián Szifron, 2014) – Comedy/Drama/Thriller
Argentina, 1985 (Santiago Mitre, 2022) – Biography/Crime/Drama
Chile 🇨🇱
No (Pablo Larraín, 2012) – Drama/History
Una mujer fantástica (Sebastián Lelio, 2017) ⭐ – Drama
Colombia 🇨🇴
El abrazo de la serpiente (Ciro Guerra, 2015) – Adventure/Biography/Drama
Cuba 🇨🇺
Fresa y chocolate (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea y Juan Carlos Tabío, 1993) – Comedy/Drama/Romance
España 🇪🇸
La venganza (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1958) – Drama
Plácido (Luis García Berlanga, 1961) – Comedy/Drama
Los Tarantos (Francisco Rovira-Beleta, 1963) – Drama/Romance
El amor brujo (Francisco Rovira-Beleta, 1967) – Drama/Musical/Romance
Tristana (Luis Buñuel, 1970) – Drama
Mi querida señorita (Jaime de Armiñán, 1972) – Romance/Drama
Ese obscuro objeto del deseo (Luis Buñuel, 1977) – Comedy/Drama/Romance
Mamá cumple cien años (Carlos Saura, 1979) – Comedy/Drama/Fantasy
El nido (Jaime de Armiñán, 1980) – Drama
Volver a empezar (José Luis Garcí, 1982) ⭐ – Drama
Carmen (Carlos Saura, 1983) – Drama/Musical/Romance
Sesión contínua (José Luis Garcí, 1984) – Drama
Asignatura aprobada (José Luis Garcí, 1987) – Drama
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988) – Comedy/Drama
Belle Époque (Fernando Trueba, 1993) ⭐ – Comedy/Drama/Romance
Secretos del corazón (Montxo Armendáriz, 1997) – Drama
El abuelo (José Luis Garcí, 1998) – Drama
Todo sobre mi madre (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999) ⭐ – Comedy/Drama/Romance
Mar adentro (Pedro Almodóvar, 2004) ⭐ – Biography/Drama
Dolor y gloria (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019) – Drama
La sociedad de la nieve (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2023) – Adventure/Biography/Drama
México 🇲🇽
Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960) – Drama/Fantasy/Mystery
Ánimas Trujano (Ismael Rodríguez, 1961) – Drama
Tlayucan (Luis Alcoriza, 1962) – Comedy/Drama
Actas de Marusia (Miguel Littín, 1975) – Drama/History
Amores perros (Alejandro González Iñarritu, 2000) – Drama/Thriller
El crimen del padre Amaro (Carlos Carrera, 2002) – Drama/Romance
El laberinto del fauno (Guillermo del Toro, 2006) – Drama/Fantasy/War
Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñarritu, 2010) – Drama/Romance
Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) ⭐ – Drama
Nicaragua 🇳🇮
Alsina y el cóndor (Miguel Littín, 1982) – Drama/War
Perú 🇵🇪
La teta asustada (Claudia Llosa, 2009) – Drama/Musical
Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Lo que le pasó a Santiago (Jacobo Morales, 1989) – Comedy/Drama/Romance
And now let’s see what has happened with the BAFTAs!
BAFTA Awards nominees and winners by country
Argentina 🇦🇷
La lección de tango (Sally Potter, 1997) – Drama/Musical/Romance
Diarios de motocicleta (Walter Salles, 2004) ⭐ – Adventure/Biography/Drama
El secreto de sus ojos (Juan José Campanella, 2009) – Drama/Mystery/Romance
Relatos salvajes (Damián Szifron, 2015) ⭐ – Comedy/Drama/Thriller
Argentina, 1985 (Santiago Mitre, 2022) – Biography/Crime/Drama
España
Carmen (Carlos Saura, 1984) ⭐ – Drama/Musical/Romance
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Pedro Almodóvar, 1989) – Comedy/Drama
Carne trémula (Pedro Almodóvar, 1997) – Drama
Todo sobre mi madre (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999) ⭐ – Comedy/Drama/Romance
Hable con ella (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002) ⭐ – Drama/Mistery/Romance
La mala educación (Pedro Almodóvar, 2004) – Crime/Drama
Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006) – Comedy/Drama
Los abrazos rotos (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009) – Drama/Romance/Thriller
La piel que habito (Pedro Almodóvar, 2011) ⭐ – Drama/Mistery/Thriller
Julieta (Pedro Almodóvar, 2016) – Drama/Mystery/Romance
Dolor y gloria (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019) – Drama
Madres paralelas (Pedro Almodóvar, 2021) – Drama
La sociedad de la nieve (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2023) – Adventure/Biography/Drama
México
Como agua para chocolate (Alfonso Arau, 1992) – Drama/Romance
Amores perros (Alejandro González Iñarritu, 2000) ⭐ – Drama/Thriller
Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001) – Drama
El laberinto del fauno (Guillermo del Toro, 2006) ⭐ – Drama/Fantasy/War
Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñarritu, 2010) – Drama/Romance
Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) ⭐ – Drama
And that’s all for today!
Do you want to keep learning Spanish?
I hope you have enjoyed this article about the best movies to learn Spanish.
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Thank you very much and until next time,
Kevin.