29 Best Spanish Movies on Netflix (2019)
Watching Spanish-language movies on Netflix is a great way to practice vocabulary and listening skills. Spanish films also allow you to learn about other cultures and gain exposure to different accents and slang.
If you are an intermediate or advanced learner, I recommend watching with Spanish subtitles as studies show it enhances language learning. I also jot down any interesting new vocabulary and add it to my Anki flashcards later.
Here are 29 recommended Spanish movies on Netflix streaming in the US as of February 1, 2019. If you’re not in the US, just click the title to check if the show is available in your country. Watch these films while you can, because content disappears as licensing agreements expire.
There are so many great Mexican movies on Netflix that I created a separate list for them. Also, don’t miss my recommendations for Spanish-language TV shows on Netflix.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, be sure to check out my lists of Spanish-language movies and Spanish-language TV shows on Amazon Prime Video available to stream free for members.
1. El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth)
Netflix has readded this Mexican/Spanish dark fantasy drama written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. This fantastical tale won Oscars for its cinematography, art direction, and makeup.
The film tells the story of young Ofelia, who meets a mythical faun who claims she is destined to become princess of the Underworld. But first she must carry out three perilous tasks. Some intense scenes of violence.
Accent: European Spanish
2. El Ciudadano Ilustre (The Distinguished Citizen)
Hilarious and moving tale of a famous Nobel Prize-winning author who returns to his backwater hometown in Argentina after many decades as an expat in Spain, with unexpected consequences.
Accents: Argentinian, European Spanish
3. Perdiendo el Norte (Off Course)
Cute and entertaining Spanish comedy about two overeducated and underemployed young Spaniards who move to Berlin to find professional jobs, but end up working in a Turkish cafe. Some hilarious moments of cultural misunderstanding.
Accent: European Spanish
4. Roma
This highly anticipated Netflix epic is an Oscar contender for Best Picture. Director Alfonso Cuarón delivers a vivid, emotional portrait of domestic life and social hierarchy set against Mexico’s political turmoil of the 1970s.
Accent: Mexican. Some dialogue in Mixtec, an indigenous language from Oaxaca.
5. La noche de 12 años (A Twelve-Year Night)
Harrowing survival drama based on the real-life story of future Uruguayan president José Mujica and his fellow Tupamaro political prisoners, who fight to survive 12 years of solitary confinement and torture.
Accent: Uruguayan
6. Soltera Codiciada (How to Get Over a Breakup)
A heartbroken ad copywriter living in Lima, Peru, is inspired to write a blog about life as a single woman and is surprised by her website’s success. Light comedy based on the real-life blog Soltera Codiciada by Peruvian writer María José Osorio.
Accent: Peruvian
7. Tarde Para la Ira (The Fury of a Patient Man)
Accent: European Spanish
8. Carteristas (Pickpockets)
Predictable but entertaining Netflix original film that follows three teen thieves learning what it takes to be successful pickpockets on the streets of Bogotá from a master in the art of deception. Stunning location shots of Colombia’s capital, especially its amazing street art.
Accents: Colombian, European Spanish
9. Nuestros Amantes (Our Lovers)
Charming, creative rom-com with clever dialogue. A love-challenged man and a woman he meets at a coffee shop begin dating, but only at the shop — and without knowing anything about each other.
Accent: European Spanish
10. 100 Metros
Moving film based on the incredible true story of a Spanish man in his 30s diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and told that within a year he would not be able to walk 100 meters. To prove his naysayers wrong, he decided to train for the world’s most challenging endurance event, an Ironman Triathlon, assisted by his delightfully cantankerous father-in-law.
Accent: European Spanish
11. El Otro Hermano (The Lost Brother)
Accents: Uruguayan, Argentinian (Note: I am not savvy enough to be able to tell the difference between these)
12. También la Lluvia (Even the Rain)
This Spanish film stars Mexican actor Gael García Bernal as a director who travels to Bolivia to shoot a film depicting Christopher Columbus’s conquest. The crew find themselves facing a moral crisis as the Bolivian film extras violently protest the privatization of their water supply, paralleling the Spanish exploitation of the New World.
Accents: European Spanish, Bolivian, Mexican
13. Palmeras en la Nieve (Palm Trees in the Snow)
Spectacular film that follows the journey of a young Spanish woman to her family’s plantation in Africa to uncover generations of family secrets.
Accent: European Spanish. Some dialogue in Aragonese, one of Spain’s minority languages.
14. Verónica
Horror fans should check out this much-hyped new arrival on Netflix from Spanish director Paco Plaza, director of the terrifying [REC] series. Verónica is a Ouija-based horror movie loosely based on true events. It follows Verónica, a teenage girl who holds a séance with her classmates, unwittingly unleashing an evil force that terrorizes her and her family.
Accent: European Spanish
15. A Cambio de Nada (Nothing in Return)
Note: No English subtitles available
Engaging movie about a Spanish teen from a dysfunctional home. Insightful and sympathetic glimpse into the world of working-class madrileños.
Accent: European Spanish
16. Coco
This Oscar-winning animated tale is a love letter to the people, music, and culture of Mexico. Its authenticity and warmth of spirit won viewers’ hearts and made it the biggest blockbuster in Mexican history.
Be sure to switch the audio to Spanish.
Accent: Mexican
17. Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest)
A successful young entrepreneur has less than three hours to prove his innocence in the murder of his mistress. Suspenseful mystery thriller from Spain with lots of twists and turns to keep you captivated.
Accent: European Spanish
18. To Be a Miss
Fascinating documentary that exposes the dark side of Venezuela’s pageant industry and the country’s obsession with female beauty. Three young models are profiled whose hopes and dreams are exploited as they strive to become the next Miss Venezuela. Particularly timely since the Miss Venezuela pageant was suspended in March 2018 due to allegations of prostitution and corruption.
Accent: Venezuelan
19. Lucía y el Sexo (Sex and Lucía)
This classic of modern Spanish cinema tells the story of Lucía, a waitress in Madrid, who escapes to a secluded island after the loss of her boyfriend, a tortured writer. There she meets others who have also run away to escape personal tragedy, all mysteriously connected in some way with a novel written by Lucía’s ex. Stylish film that blurs the lines between fact and fiction. Note: This edition has been censored to remove brief explicit sex scenes.
Accent: European Spanish
20. Toro
An ex-con who has left his life of crime behind is dragged into conflict with the local mafia when his family is threatened. Entertainingly frenetic thriller atmospherically set on Spain’s southern coast.
Accent: European Spanish
21. Neruda
This unconventional biopic of Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda mixes history and fantasy. Gael García Bernal plays a fictional policeman tasked with hunting down the Communist writer as part of a government crackdown on political dissidents. Beautiful shot but at times a little slow.
Accent: Chilean
22. 7 Años
This cerebral drama is Netflix’s first original film in Spanish. Four friends make the gut-wrenching decision of who will go to prison for the crime they committed. A character play set in a single room, with terrific dialogue and performances.
Accent: European Spanish
23. Fe De Etarras (Bomb Scared)
Netflix’s second Spanish-language film is a controversial dark comedy about a dysfunctional group of wannabe Basque terrorists awaiting word about a new mission while Spain makes a run at the World Cup title. Most of the cast are big names in Spain but relatively unknown in the US. Best for those an interest in recent Spanish history and the Basque conflict.
Accent: European Spanish
24. La Llamada (Holy Camp)
Popular Spanish film adaptation of a cult musical comedy. Two rebellious teen girls who love reggaeton music have a life-changing brush with the divine at a camp run by nuns. Very funny and relatable despite the unlikely plot.
Accent: European Spanish
25. El Faro de las Orcas (The Lighthouse of the Orcas)
Moving film shot in a remote area of Argentine Patagonia. A Spanish mother travels to the ends of the earth with her autistic son in the hope that a ranger and a pod of wild orcas can help him find an emotional connection.
Accents: Argentinian, European Spanish
26. El Hombre de las Mil Caras (Smoke and Mirrors)
Complex Spanish thriller that takes the viewer on a whirlwind tour around the world. Based on the non-fiction book Paesa, el espía de las mil caras by Manuel Cerdán. The film stars Eduard Fernández as Francisco Paesa, a former agent of the Spanish secret service who faked his own death after an infamous corruption scandal.
Accent: European Spanish
27. Thi Mai, Rumbo a Vietnam
In this heartwarming comic drama, a determined mother travels to Vietnam along with her two friends to bring home the baby her recently deceased daughter had planned to adopt.
Accent: European Spanish
28. Toc Toc
In the mood for a silly comedy? This zany film based on a hit play follows a group of patients with OCD who wait for their flight-delayed doctor to arrive for their appointments, forcing them to endure each other’s oddball quirks
Accent: European Spanish
29. La Hora Final (The Last Hour)
In this compelling true story set in 1992, two Peruvian detectives go undercover to locate and capture the elusive leader of the Shining Path.
Accent: Peruvian
More Netflix Suggestions
- Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil – A brutal blacksmith tortures a demon he blames for his misery, unaware a trespassing orphan is about to change everything. It’s in Basque, not Spanish, but this creepy fairy tale based on Basque folklore is worth a watch. Watch the trailer.
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Have feedback on these movies or more Spanish movie Netflix recommendations? Some of my best suggestions come from readers! Please share your thoughts in the comments.
All images © Netflix
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Suggested reconsideration of your terms:
Peninsular Spanish
Continental Spanish (Latin America)
HOWEVER, there is not one form of Castilian spoken in Spain but multiple, with a diversity of slang terms, accents, cadences, deliveries, etc. ….now multiply that by 100++ across the many regions of the Spanish speaking Americas (including migrant to 3rd generation mixed speakers in “anglo” America).
Just thinking of the country with the largest amount of Spanish speakers in the world, Mexico and its diaspora, one would have many differences across regions, education levels, vocational jargons, ancestries and socio-economic strata. Just like English.
Saludos, ThePostNational.com @ThePostNational @TechGuerrero
Thanks for your comment. I know the term peninsular Spanish is often used in Spain; I’ve been using European Spanish instead, as I thought it would be less confusing for my mostly North American audience.
And agree with you on the mind-boggling diversity of dialects… I’ve mainly focused on Mexican and European Spanish and keeping the vocabulary and grammar differences straight is a real challenge at times!