Best Spanish Movies On Netflix (2020): Improve Your Spanish With Cinema

Language teachers will often tell their students that they need to immerse themselves in a language if they really want to gain fluency. 

One of the best ways to do so, aside from actually going to a country where the language is spoken, is to watch movies in the language.

Watching Spanish movies is a great way to not just practice your language comprehension but also a way to familiarize yourself with the culture and the way Spanish speaking people think.

With the rise of Netflix, it is easier than ever to find and watch Spanish movies. 

In this post, we are going to present you with a sample of the best Spanish movies on Netflix. Take a look.

Best Spanish movies on Netflix (2020)

Here are some of the latest Spanish movies that have been released on Netflix. 

1. 7 Anos

This drama looks at the bonds of friendships and how they stand up when faced with serious questions of morality. 

Four business partners need to make an important decision: Which one of them will take the fall and go to jail for a crime they are all complicit in.

2. 100 metros

This drama is about a businessman who was suddenly diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease and the effect it has on him and his family.

Of course, the diagnosis is devastating, but the protagonist decides that what he wants to do with the time he has left is enter an IronMan competition. 

As he trains, the protagonist, his family, and the viewers get to see that physical strength isn’t the only thing that allows an athlete to succeed.

3. Gente que viene y bah

Also known as “In Family I Trust”, this Spanish drama was developed from a novel. 

The protagonist Bea, has just found out that her boyfriend was unfaithful and, to top it off, she’s lost her job. 

What else is left for her but to go back to the coastal town her family calls home?

4. Nuestro amantes

This film starts with an epic meeting before moving on to study the importance of books and mutual interests. 

We follow the budding romance of a writer and a book lover as they grow closer and start to realize that, after you meet, you actually have to work to get to know the other person.

5. Thi Mai

This movie kind of reminds us of those “teen road trip” comedies, but this is a bit more of a dramedy and instead of teens, we have a bunch of witty middle aged women. 

Carmen’s daughter has just passed away and Carmen decides that, to honor her daughter’s memory, she needs to find and adopt the girl she was in the middle of adopting. 

This leads Carmen and her three best friends to leave the dull comfort of their lives in Spain to journey to Vietnam.

Best Spanish movies on Netflix (2019)

These Spanish movies from 2019 are still available for streaming. You should check them out.

1. A Pesar De Todo

Four sisters return home to Madrid to attend their mother’s funeral.

While they are there, they find out that the man they called their father, is not their biological dad. 

They then set out on a road trip to find their biological father and learn about each other along the way.

2. Diecisiete

This film centers on the relationship between a boy and his dog, as well as the bond between brothers. 

When the shelter dog he considers a friend goes missing, a 17-year old boy decides to escape from a juvenile detention center. 

He can’t do it alone, however, so he seeks the help of his older brother. 

3. Elisa y Marcela

This romantic biographical drama chronicles the lives of Elisa Sanchez Loriga and Marcela Garcia Ibeas, two lovers who managed to pass as a heterosexual couple and married in 1901, becoming the first same-sex marriage in Spain.

4. Pan’s Labyrinth 

This dark fantasy from Guillermo del Toro was released in theaters in 1996, but is still available on Netflix. 

Follow along with Ofelia as she navigated a fictional world filled with fantastic creatures – that are at times more menacing than cute – as she seeks to rescue herself and her younger brother.

 5. The Platform

This dark science fiction film is set in a futuristic “prison” where residents live in a tower with an uncountable number of floors. 

Every day, a platform full of food is lowered level by level, and residents can eat their fill – if they are lucky enough to be on the top floors. 

Best Spanish movies on Netflix (2018)

Here are some other great Spanish movies, which were uploaded to Netflix in 2018 (or released in 2018 or earlier) that you should really try to catch before they are removed.

1. Contratiempo

This thrilling mystery will keep you at the edge of your seat. 

Businessman Adrian Doria had it all, till he was found inside a locked hotel room with a dead body. 

Now about to be tried for murder, he works with Virginia Goodman, a witness preparation expert to try and understand what happened and prepare his defense.

2. La sombra de la ley 

This historical thriller is set in 1921 Barcelona, in the midst of unrest and clashes between anarchists and the police. 

The protagonist travels from Madrid to Barcelona to help the police find a missing shipment of military weapons.

3. El aviso

This thriller is based on a popular novel by writer Paul Pen. 

Nico, a young boy, is troubled when he receives a threatening letter. 

No one will believe, however, that his life might be in danger. No one but a mysterious man who believes that fate is a malevolent entity that wants NIco dead.

4. El árbol de la sangre 

This drama follows the story of a young couple writing down the story of the shared history between their families. 

We see how they were born and how they met through a series of flashbacks that also starts to reveal a convoluted secret history that involves the Russian mafia. 

5. Roma

This acclaimed drama, shot in black-and-white, won Alfonso Cuaron his second Best Director Oscar. 

It was also the first Mexican film to win Best Foreign Language film. 

Follow along with the life of Cleo, a live-in housekeeper and the family she works for as their quiet lives are rocked by Cleo’s unexpected pregnancy and the disintegration of a marriage.

Best Mexican Movies on Netflix

Another reason to watch Spanish movies on Netflix, is because it allows you to hear and familiarize yourself with the different regional variations of Spanish. 

The Spanish spoken in Spain, is just a little bit different from that spoken in Argentina, or Nicaragua, or Puerto Rico. 

There are nuances in pronunciation and slight differences in accents that make them distinct.

Mexican Spanish is a particularly good variation to familiarize yourself with because Mexico actually has the largest concentration of native Spanish speakers in the world.  

To gain some insight in how Mexican Spanish sounds, watch the following movies.

1. 07:19: La Hora de Temblor

The title of this gripping survival film is the exact time when an earthquake hit Mexico City on September 19, 1985.

The film focuses on the aftermath of an earthquake in Mexico City, following the next few hours in the lives of trapped survivors as they wait – and hope – for rescue.

2. Como agua para chocolate

This movie, based on a well-loved Laura Esquivel novel, is a gorgeous surreal love story centered on the “magic” of cooking – specifically cooking for ones you love. 

Tita, the youngest daughter of a well-of Mexican family, falls in love but is not allowed to marry as it is her “duty” to stay unmarried and care for her mother. 

When the man she loves ends up marrying her sister instead, that’s when things really get interesting.

3. Como caído del cielo

Pedro Infante was considered one of the greatest actors of Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema and was a talented idol and singer as well. He tragically died young in a plane crash and. . . the movie takes off from there.

In this comedy, Infante finds that fame on earth is no guarantee of a seat in heaven. 

He is sent back to Earth in the body of an Infante impersonator to make amends for his previous womanizing in the hope of earning his way into heaven.

4. El Club De Los Insomnes

In Insomniac, a photographer, and a pregnant woman keep meeting up at a 24-hour mini market and unlikely friendships are forged. 

This cute rom-com explores how unexpected bonds can be formed when and where we least expect them to. 

5.  Todas las pecas del mundo

This cute little coming-of-age movie is set in Mexico City amidst the football fever of the 1994 World Cup. 

Despite everything that is going on around him, 13-year old Jose Miguel, isn’t really a football fan. Until he realizes that football is the key to the heart of his crush.

Funny Spanish movies on Netflix

Do you like to laugh? Well, if you are looking to chill, learn, and have a few laughs, check out these funny Spanish movies available on Netflix.

1. ¡Ay, mi madre!

Maria’s estranged mother has just passed away and, before she can properly grieve, she finds herself on a quest to secure her inheritance. 

While the movie might start out a little dark, Maria and the quirky cast of characters around her – not to mention the stipulations in her mothers will – end up in some wacky misadventures that are truly fun and funny to watch.

2. La tribu

Trigger warning, this movie starts out with an attempted suicide. 

After trying and failing to kill himself, former HR head Fidel wakes up with partial amnesia in the hospital to find his biological mother by his bed.  In order to recover and get to know her, he decides to go home with her.

Not only does he get to know his mother, but he also bonds with her friends, a dance troupe. This film features snappy dialogue and some delightful, if slightly awkward dancing sequences.

3. Jefe

Who doesn’t love an “opposites attract” romance? In “Jefe” the opposites who find out that they need and complete each other are businessman Cesar and cleaning woman Ariana.

A slightly unscrupulous businessman, Cesar’s marriage has ended and his business has failed when he meets the lively Ariana. 

Ariana isn’t impressed with Cesar and his world and instead gets him to appreciate what’s really important in life: laughs and love.

4. Villaviciosa de al Lado

The comedy in this movie, set in a fictional Spanish town known as Villaviciosa de al Labo, starts when a group of men win the lottery. 

While this would usually be a reason to rejoice, the ticket brings its own problem. See the men bought the ticket at a local brothel, now, they don’t know how they can claim the prize without their wives knowing they go there.

5. Yucatan 

This quirky “caper” comedy takes place on a cruise ship going from Spain to Mexico. On board are a couple of bumbling thieves trying to be the one to “score” over a baker who is on the cruise celebrating his recent lottery win.

As the thieves try to outwit each other – and the oblivious baker – their plans are unexpectedly and hilariously foiled by their interactions with the other characters on the cruise. 

Will one of the thieves get the better of each other? Or will they find something else? 

Conclusion

If you want to use Spanish movies on Netflix to improve your Spanish language fluency, we recommend that you watch it with Spanish audio and maybe subtitles in your own first language. 

Try to concentrate on the spoken dialogue and only look at the subtitles if you’re getting lost. 

Spanish language tutors should recommend Spanish movies on Netflix for students to watch either before or after their tutoring sessions. 

Asking, “what did you think”, is a great way to start a conversation and allow the student to practice speaking and thinking in Spanish. 

 

Have you watched any of these movies? Let us know your favorite one in the comments section below.