If you’re learning Spanish, one of the best ways to study – from improving your listening and comprehension, to working on your accent – is to watch Spanish movies (or TV shows, documentaries, you name it!) on platforms like Netflix.
But it can be hard to know what to watch – and how to find something worth watching.
While there’s tons of great Spanish language content out there, if your Netflix account largely displays English entertainment, the best Spanish movies and shows may not even pop up (thanks, algorithm).
That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the top 11 movies in Spanish on Netflix right now.
Now, all you need to do is type the title into the search bar. Easy peasy, limón squeezy.
These are excellent movies for Spanish language learners, but they’re also just plain fantastic films, regardless of whether or not you’re brushing up on your español.
With genres ranging from horror to comedy to romance and beyond, get ready to turn on your subtitles and watch some incredible Spanish movies on Netflix.
We’ve noted in our descriptions where these films were produced, since just as you’ll hear different French accents in the French films or French series you’ll find on Netflix, there are different varieties of Spanish. There’s a big difference, for example, between the Spanish spoken in Latin America and Spain.
Tomatometer: 89%
Genre: Black comedy, family drama
Country of origin: Mexico
Fernando Luján gives an unstoppable performance as José Kurtz, a Mexico City man who’s charged with planning ex-wife Nora’s funeral after she takes her own life. The movie is at once touching and darkly funny as it explores how a person can continue to hold power over the living from beyond the grave.
Tomatometer: 90%
Genre: Horror
Country of origin: Spain
A young girl and her friends try out a Ouija board (also known as a spirit board or talking board) during a solar eclipse – and paranormal terror ensues. Based on a tragic true story, this is a horror movie that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.
Tomatometer: 79%
Genre: Mystery and thriller, sci-fi
Country of origin: Spain
El Hoyo is a slick 94-minute film about humans being kept in a tower-like structure where food is distributed first to the people at the top, then in decreasing leftovers down to the bottom floor. It made a splash when it hit Netflix in 2020 for its social commentary, hints of humor and grindhouse-like gore. If you’re a horror fan with a social conscience, The Platform is a crowd-pleaser that will make for a satisfying evening.
Tomatometer: 96%
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: Mexico
A powerful, if harrowing, coming of age story about three adolescent girls in Mexico. The three best friends grow up together in a rural Jalisco village under the thumb of a cartel. A deceptively simple but ultimately absorbing and stinging drama with a strong visual sensibility.
Tomatometer: 89%
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Country of origin: Spain
After being diagnosed with a terminal disease, a cartel boss is released from prison. But little does he know he’s being cared for by a vengeful nurse whose life was changed forever by the drug lord’s actions. A dark and suspenseful thriller.
Tomatometer: 100%
Genre: Comedy, drama
Country of origin: Mexico
A feel-good classroom movie about a teacher in rural Mexico who’s determined to make a difference. A classic kind of film about plucky students overcoming tough circumstances, El último vagón is warm and astute enough that it successfully avoids leaning too far into cliché.
Tomatometer: 87%
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: Spain, Mexico, Bolivia
Even the Rain is a critically acclaimed, award-winning film about a Mexican film director and a Spanish film producer who travel to Bolivia to make a film about Christopher Columbus.
They find themselves in the middle of the Cochabamba Water War, protests about the privatization and increasing costs of water in the city of Cochabamba.
Though the film is fictional, it’s set in 2000 among real events. It’s an interesting film, offering learners not just an array of Spanish accents, but a reflection on colonialism and international politics between Spanish-speaking nations.
Besides, no list of great Spanish films would be complete without an appearance from Gael García Bernal.
Tomatometer: 96%
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: Mexico
One of the two films for which Alfonso Cuarón won the Oscar for Best Director, Roma is a semi-autobiographical film for Cuarón. It centers around Cleo, a live-in maid working for a middle class family, and her life in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
The emotional film won a vast number of accolades. Its previously unknown star, Yalitza Aparicio, was named one of TIME’s most influential people of 2019.
Tomatometer: 93%
Genre: Road trip, comedy
Country of origin: Mexico
Güeros follows restless teens in Mexico City during the 1999 student strikes as they search for (fictional) Mexican folk rock legend Epigmenio Cruz. It’s an inventive and stylish road trip dramedy, rendered in black and white and totally unique.
Tomatometer: 98%
Genre: Drama, musical & performing arts
Country of origin: Mexico
After a misunderstanding, a 17-year-old cumbia fan has to flee across the US-Mexico border to save his own life. A visually grabbing meditation on assimilation and identity.
Tomatometer: 90%
Genre: Adventure, drama
Country of origin: Spain
A nominee for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and winner of the Goya Award for Best Picture, this gripping movie tells the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team that was stranded in the Andes by a plane crash in 1972. It’s a must-watch for anyone who enjoys survival stories.
And, as a bonus for Spanish learners looking to hear more South American accents, much of the cast is made up of Uruguayan and Argentine actors giving excellent performances.
And there you have it! These 11 Spanish movies on Netflix can help you practice your Spanish or just enjoy a cozy night in.
And remember – these are really just a small representation of the amazing filmmaking in the Spanish-speaking world. And that’s not including the mounting number of binge-worthy Spanish Netflix series available right now.
No matter what your taste in movies or TV, from zany antics to weepy dramas to gory sci-fi, there’s something out there for any Spanish learner.
So what are you waiting for?
Get watching already!
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