Anyone have favorite movies in Spanish language that they can recommend? I just watched Mientras Duermes (Sleep Tight) (2011) and found it to be a nice thriller/drama.. I also have a question.... some months ago TCM showed what I think was a Spanish movie, I think from late 70's or early 80's about young adults or teenagers robbing a bank or something, a criminal drama. Not sure if it was Spanish, I only caught a few minutes of it, but I think it was. Does anyone know what movie it is?
I'm a native Spanish and the only Spanish movies I've ever seen at the cinema are Alejandro Amenábar's Tesis (from 1995 I think, it's his first movie) and Abre Los Ojos (from 1998 I think) that is the original to the dreadful Vanilla Sky. I can't dislike Almodóvar's movies more, for me they're rubish that tries to show a Spain that doesn't exist.
It may be "Deprisa, deprisa" directed by Carlos Saura (1981). An interesting film, dirty realism kind of thing, with non professional actors on the leading roles. Check it out, I think it is a good movie, but don't expect the production levels of a Hollywood film (my goodness, check out the stolen cars they drive on the way to the robberies).
These 2 are great films in ANY language. Made in the early 2000's, they feature a few actors who have successfully 'crossed over' Real Women Have Curves Y Tu Mama Tambien
I live in Spain and have been married to a Spaniard for thirty years and can vouch for the fact that Spanish film-makers are particularly good at thrillers and horror. From the past few years, I would recommend "May God Save Us" about two very different detectives hunting a serial killer of elderly ladies in a blazing Madrid summer: it has something of an air of "The Name of the Rose" and "Seven" combined with a Spanish earthiness. The performances of the two detectives are splendid and the villain is also effectively surprising. Antonio de la Torre, one of the two detectives in the aforementioned film, and one of Spain's finest actors, also stars in "The Fury of a Patient Man" - a very gritty, realistic revenge drama set in working class Madrid. The director of that movie is one of the leads in "Marshland" a brilliant Spanish thriller with elements of the political and the supernatural that is set in the rural south of Spain just as the dictatorship of Franco ended. Lots of people feel it has much in common with season 1 of "True Detective" (in a good way). For a historical, military drama "1898: Our Last Men in the Philippines" is excellent - based on a true story, a group of Spanish soldiers are besieged for over a year in a small church compound lost in the jungle with no idea that the Spanish empire has collapsed. The lead actor is also the star of "Sleep Tight," Luis Tosar - another of Spain's best actors. One of the most entertaining Spanish films ever is "The Day of the Beast" from the 1990s in which a timid priest, a heavy metal fan and a fake TV psychic try to stop the Antichrist from being born: it works as a comedy, a horror film and even an action film. An eerie Spanish thriller is "Intacto" about a secret circle of astonishingly lucky individuals who play weird and dangerous games of chance against each other. I agree that Almodovar is horribly over-rated, and that "The Spirit of the Beehive" might be Spain's greatest ever film, however, Spain's greatest ever film-maker is Luís Buñuel, who, like Kubrick, is almost a genre unto himself.
The spirit of the bee hive has already been mentioned and is truly a masterpiece. For something rather darker again with the young Ana Torrent you could try Cria Cuervos.
Here's a nice one: Spain, 1966: Antonio (Javier Cámara, from I'm So Excited!) is a teacher and a Beatles fan - facets he combines by getting his pupils to recite the lyrics from 'Help' in English class. When he learns that his idol John Lennon is making a film in Almería (Richard Lester's How I Won the War) he resolves to meet him. On the journey he picks up two young runaways: Bethlehem, a pregnant girl fleeing a convent, and Juanjo, a boy escaping a dictatorial father. Spain's Submission for Best Foreign Language Film - 87th Academy Awards
thank you all for your recommendations! I will try to check out some of those Deprisa, deprisa (1981) is a nice movie, caught my eye on TCM one morning, and thank you to other members for identifying, while actors are not professional the movie is well acted and I cared for the young characters and wanted them to succeed in life. And music adds a lot to the movie. I will try to check out some other Carlos Saura movies. Durante la tormenta (Mirage) (2018) - nice thriller/suspense, has a theme of butterfly effect time travel, good mix of fantasy, suspense, crime, family drama and love story. Including song Time After Time was a nice touch, and a nice 80's flashback to Berlin Wall coming down. Very enjoyable movie La cara oculta (The Hidden Face) (2011) - simple plot, but an effective thriller, humans (in this case women) can be very cruel
Here's a bunch: - Viridiana Viridiana (1961) - IMDb - El verdugo The Executioner (1963) - IMDb - Plácido Plácido (1961) - IMDb - ¡Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall! Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953) - IMDb - Atraco a las tres Atraco a las tres (1962) - IMDb - Muerte de un ciclista Death of a Cyclist (1955) - IMDb - La residencia The House That Screamed (1969) - IMDb - ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) - IMDb - La cabina -> short film, but WORTH viewing La cabina (TV Short 1972) - IMDb - Un verano para matar Summertime Killer (1972) - IMDb - La corrupción de Chris Miller The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973) - IMDb - El perro A Dog Called... Vengeance (1977) - IMDb - Navajeros Navajeros (1980) - IMDb - El pico El pico (1983) - IMDb - El pico 2 El pico 2 (1984) - IMDb - Los depredadores de la noche Faceless (1987) - IMDb - Angustia Anguish (1987) - IMDb - Martín (Hache) Martín (Hache) (1997) - IMDb - Fausto 5.0 Fausto 5.0 (2001) - IMDb - Tras el cristal Tras el cristal (1986) - IMDb - El orfanato The Orphanage (2007) - IMDb - Rec REC (2007) - IMDb - Los cronocrímenes Timecrimes (2007) - IMDb - El cuerpo The Body (2012) - IMDb - La caja 507 La caja 507 (2002) - IMDb - El hombre de las mil caras El hombre de las mil caras (2016) - IMDb
Although he was born and raised in Spain, Buñuel later became a Mexican citizen, and a large chunk of his filmography was made within the Mexican studio system. He did produce some films (mostly uncredited) within the Spanish industry during the 1930s. But the films we know him best for — the early surrealist works with Dalí, and his late-period masterpieces — were mostly made in France, either with French or international co-funding, and with French being the main language spoken. Buñuel’s most Spanish film is Viridiana, which ended up causing a huge scandal in his home country, and was banned for many years afterward. Of the rest, only Tristana can claim to be truly Spanish. I am a huge fan of Buñuel, and would agree that in his heart he always remained a Spaniard. But I find it hard to label him as a Spanish filmmaker per se, when his life’s work was mostly in Mexico and France. Obviously, I recognise that this path was forced upon Buñuel by the political situation in Spain, which we don’t have to go into here. How is Buñuel seen in Spain today? Is he embraced as one of their own, or is he seen more as an outlier, an ex-pat who went out into the larger world and never really came back?
I liked to watch the 40s/50s Mexican films on the Spanish channel(Univision or Telemundo), especially with Mario Moreno "Cantinflas".
