The past few years have seen a boom of Spanish-language films, finding success at both the box office and during awards season. Many of the Oscars for Best Director since 2012 have gone to Spanish-speaking directors.
That being said, “Spanish movies” is a broad term, with every Spanish-speaking country having its own unique and different cinematic history and traditions. This makes for a wide and exciting variety of movies, from prestige dramas to some of the best horror and thriller movies of the past decade to hilarious comedies and outrageous musicals.
As with the culture of the many Spanish-speaking countries, movies in Spanish present a variety of genres and opportunities to offer something for everyone. That’s why this list has a little for everyone, from horror fans to those wanting something more serious to thrilling documentaries. It’s time to share the best Spanish-language movies streaming on Netflix now!
Editor’s note: This article was updated June 2022 to include Elisa & Marcela, Ready to Mingle, and The Crimes That Bind.
The Platform (2019)
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Writers: David Desola, Pedro Rivero
Cast: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan
Run Time: 1 hr 34 min
From Perri Nemiroff’s Review
The movie stars Ivan Massagué as Goreng, a man who voluntarily agrees to serve six months in The Hole in exchange for an accredited diploma. The facility is a prison of sorts that’s structured vertically. Two inmates call each floor home for exactly 30 days. At the end of that period of time, gas fills the structure, knocks them all out and when they wake up, they’re on a new floor. Why does the floor they’re on matter? Because they’re only fed once a day for a matter of minutes via the platform. It begins on floor 0 where it’s loaded up with a dream-like assortment of drinks, salad, chicken, cakes and more and then, the platform descends floor by floor. Floor 1 gets the food of their choice, then their leftovers move to floor 2, floor 3, and so on. While that might not sound all that bad for the folks higher up, imagine calling floor 100 home – or even floor 48 for that matter. When the floors above you are stuffing their faces and even stepping on the table to get what they want, there’s a good chance you’ll be left with their unappetizing remnants – if you’re left with any food at all…
I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that this is Gaztelu-Urrutia’s feature directorial debut. I suspect this would be an immensely challenging concept to bring to screen for even the most seasoned filmmaker. What Gaztelu-Urrutia accomplishes here exhibits such confidence, understanding and control of his craft, and it’s a sure sign that Gaztelu-Urrutia knows how to lead a team, bringing the most out of every creator he’s collaborating with and then bringing their work together with great expertise. The Platform does fall short of total perfection due to one particular plot point that’s introduced and expanded later on in the movie that isn’t quite as refined as the earlier beats, but it’s still a must-see that will likely wind up being one of the best horror movies of 2020. – Perri Nemiroff
Elisa & Marcela (2019)
Director/Writer: Isabel Coixet
Cast: Natalia de Molina, Greta Fernández
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min
If you’re a fan of period sapphic stories like Carol, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, or Ammonite, Elisa & Marcela is sure to be right up your alley. The film is based on the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas – two lesbians who posed as a heterosexual couple in order to marry in the Church of Saint George in A Coruña. They succeeded and became the first same-sex couple to marry in Spain back in 1901. Overflowing with chemistry and beautiful cinematography, if you’re in the mood for a romance, check this one out. – Taylor Gates
Ready to Mingle (2019)
Director: Luis Javier Henaine
Writer: Luis Javier Henaine, Alejandra Olvera Avila
Cast: Cassandra Ciangherotti, Gabriela de la Garza, Irán Castillo
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min
After breaking up with her boyfriend of a decade due to his lack of interest in marriage, Ana (Cassandra Ciangherotti) decides to attend a class with a love coach and figure out how to land the perfect husband. Ready to Mingle is a rom-com that doesn’t break a lot of new ground, but it’s still highly enjoyable for what it is. There are makeover sequences galore, hilarious terrible date montages, and – of course – a swoony love interest in the form of Diego (Juan Pablo Medina). If you’re looking for a silly, Bridesmaids-esque watch, give this one a go. – Taylor Gates
The Crimes That Bind (2020)
Director: Sebastián Schindel
Writer: Pablo Del Teso, Sebastián Schindel
Cast: Cecilia Roth, Miguel Ángel Solá, Sofía Gala Castiglione
Run Time: 1 hr 39 min
The Crimes That Bind is an intense, timely film about a mother grappling with her son being accused of unspeakable crimes. Cecelia Roth stars as the wealthy Alicia, the mother of 35-year-old Daniel, who is accused of stalking and violence against women. Though she is initially in denial that her child could be capable of such things, she is eventually forced to face the truth, deal with the consequences, and choose whether to stand by her son or do the right thing. – Taylor Gates
Holy Camp! (2017)
Director: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
Writer: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
Cast: Macarena García, Anna Castillo, Belén Cuesta, Gracia Olayo
Run Time: 1 hr 49 min
Spanish cinema has a long tradition of making comedy out of the religious devotion of many Spaniards. After all, many of Pedro Almodóvar’s early works touched upon religion for comedic purposes. Take that and combine it with the established popularity of musicals starring singing nuns, and you get the Spanish sensation, Holy Camp!
Based on the award-winning Spanish stage musical, Holy Camp! follows a Catholic summer camp for girls and the camp’s two most rebellious teens, Susana and María, who sneak out of their bunks every night to party with boys and dream about launching a career as electro-latino singers. Their summer changes when María has a late-night encounter with God, who looks like a beardless, middle-age showman who belts out “I Will Always Love You” because, of course, God is a huge fan of Whitney Houston. This leads to the young woman and the conservative nuns that run the camp being forced to confront hidden emotions and desires, resulting in a campy and hilarious LGBTQ musical about the divide between conservatives and progressives and the happy coexistence that can exist between the two.
Toc Toc (2017)
Director: Vicente Villanueva
Writer: Vicente Villanueva
Cast: Paco León, Alexandra Jiménez, Rossy de Palma, Oscar Martínez
Run Time: 1 hr 30 min
Another film based on a hit stage play, Toc Toc is a hilariously dark comedy full of quirky characters on the worst day of their life. Six patients find themselves in a waiting room, ready for their appointment with a prestigious therapist. They have quite a lot in common: They were all given the exact same time for the appointment and they all have some kind of OCD. The therapist’s secretary has no idea why they all have the same appointment, and the therapist is on a flight that is delayed.
The comedy comes from the zany characters all becoming increasingly frustrated with each other due to their own oddball quirks that range from obsession with numbers, phrase-repeating, germophobia, the one that can’t stop cursing, and more. Though it mostly takes place in one location, Toc Toc manages to keep the plot fresh and continuously funny.
Time Share (2018)
Director: Sebastián Hofmann
Writer: Julio Chavezmontes, Sebastián Hofmann
Cast: Luis Gerardo Méndez, Miguel Rodarte, RJ Mitte
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min
Horror movies come in all shapes and forms, usually taking the darkest corners of our imagination and turning them into horrific stories. But the best horror movies take what are ordinary events or ideas and exploit them for all they’re worth. One such film is Sebastián Hofmann’s Time Share.
Pedro wants nothing more than to take his family on vacation, and buys into a time share company’s promises of an affordable yet unforgettable vacation. The problem is that when they check into their villa, they find another family already booked for the same house; Pedro and his family will be forced to contend with the invaders and keep his sanity. Time Share is a comedic but at times horrifying exploration of paranoia, claustrophobia, and capitalism, all set inside an all-exclusive resort that is shot like a Kubrickian vacation video.
Quién te Cantará (2018)
Director: Carlos Vermut
Writer: Carlos Vermut
Cast: Najwa Nimri, Eva Llorach, Carme Elias, Natalia de Molina
Run Time: 2 hr 5 min
There are plenty of movies about stardom and the rise and fall of stars, but movies about the fans who make them famous are few and far in between. Carlos Vermut attempts to rectify this situation with a stylish psychological thriller about erased identities and generational frustrations that’s at a midpoint between Perfect Blue and Persona.
Quién te cantará tells the story of Lila, a famous retired singer who loses her memory after being involved in a tragic accident. Because she was due for a career comeback in just over a month, Lila’s manager finds a super fan to teach Lila how to become her old self again. It is a beautifully told movie that portrays a positive side of fandom as a place where the lost can find and enrich themselves through impersonation and admiration – plus it has a killer soundtrack.
The Perfect Dictatorship (2014)
Director: Luis Estrada
Writer: Luis Estrada
Cast: Damián Alcázar, Alfonso Herrera, Joaquín Cosio, Silvia Nararro
Run Time: 2 hr 23 min
The most powerful Mexican TV corporation discloses a scandalous story involving a governor and his illicit business, so the governor decides to clean his image by doing highly expensive secret deals with the TV corporation. The governor wants the TV channel to the change the public’s perspective of himself and turn him into a superstar and likeable presidential candidate.
Luís Estrada crafted a bleak political satire with The Perfect Dictatorship, which is like Wag the Dog meets Network. It’s a biting look at corruption in both politics and the media, and the collusion that comes from it and the impact it has on regular people. It’s sharp and lightning-fast dialogue makes this already cynical movie hit all the closer to home, with a story that was already painfully real in Mexico in 2014 and is now applicable in many other countries.
Mirage (2018)
Director: Oriol Paulo
Writer: Oriol Paulo, Lara Sendim
Cast: Adriana Ugarte, Chino Darón, Javier Gutiérrez Álvarez, Nora Navas
Run Time: 2 hr 9 min
A happily married mother learns that she may be able to save the life of a boy who lived in her home 25 years earlier, but by altering the timeline, she causes irreparable damage to her own reality – mainly the fact that her own daughter has never been born and her husband doesn’t know who she it. Can she fix everything and get her family back? Welcome to Mirage.
After making a splash with the thrillers Julia’s Eyes and The Invisible Guest, Oriol Paulo returns with a time-travel, mind-twister of a movie with a stunning performance by Adriana Ugarte and a tight script that keeps you on the edge of your seat while you also guess as to what will happen next. More than a twisty sci-fi story, however, this is a poignant exploration of motherhood and the lengths a mother goes to protect and bring back her daughter.
The Bar (2017)
Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Writer: Álex de la Iglesia, Jorge Guerricaechevarría
Cast: Mario Cassas, Blanca Suárez
Run Time: 1 hr 42 min
Álex de la Iglesia and his long-time collaborator, Jorge Guerricaechevarría, have become staples of the Spanish horror and dark comedy scene with cult classics like The Day of the Beast. Now, taking inspiration from Assault on Precinct 13 and Stephen King’s The Mist comes the darkly funny The Bar.
A group of strangers find themselves trapped inside a bar in Madrid while some sort of apocalypse is happening outside. Streets are being evacuated, and whoever leaves the bar is instantly shot by an unknown sniper, so the only thing left to do is argue over what is happening outside the titular bar and try not to kill each other in the meantime. What comes next is a humorous and claustrophobic satire that feels like a caged animal, using everything from the camerawork, to the set design, to the dialogue delivery to make the audience feel as uncomfortable as the people trapped in the bar.
The Distinguished Citizen (2016)
Director: Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn
Writer: Andrés Duprat
Cast: Oscar Martínez, Dady Brieva, Andrea Figerio
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min
The cinematic equivalent of the “No one is a prophet in their own land” saying, Duprat and Cohn’s dramatic comedy The Distinguished Citizen is a satirical film about our relationship with the past. Taciturn novelist Daniel Mantovani has the kind of fame and fortune few authors can ever imagine, but he doesn’t seem to care for awards and speeches. It is not until he wins a Nobel Prize in literature that he finally decides to accept an invitation to visit his Argentinian hometown he hasn’t visited since he began his self-imposed European exile 50 years prior.
Once he arrives at the town, it brings Mantovani memories of monotony and boredom that made him want to leave in the first place. It also turns out that hometown was the inspiration for all of Mantovani’s books, with many of his old acquaintances serving as characters in his books – and they are not pleased about it. Duprat and Cohn explore art and taking inspiration from reality, as well as the role of artist and the separation of the artist and his work, and whether an artist can truly give back to his community. It’s a sweet, thoughtful, and hilarious film.
Verónica (2017)
Director: Paco Plaza
Writer: Fernando Navarro
Cast: Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Ana Torrent, Consuelo Trujillo
Run Time: 1 hr 45 min
Horror movies are meant to scare us in one way or another, but there are plenty of horror movies that can also make us cry in addition to scream. One of the saddest horror movies in recent years is Paco Plaza’s Verónica. Based on a terrifying true story, we follow the titular Verónica, a young girl who uses a Ouija board at school during a solar eclipse to try and summon the spirit of her late father. Something goes wrong and Verónica becomes the accidental vessel of a malevolent spirit that will kill her in three days unless she can get rid of it.
The mastermind behind REC, Plaza crafted a horror movie that was talked about as the scariest thing on Netflix, a hauntingly sad story of a girl being played with by forces she doesn’t understand and desperately trying to survive while everyone around her dismisses her cries as the ramblings of a teenage girl. The acting is superb, the camerawork accentuates the scares, resulting in one of the best horror movies of 2018. You will scream, but by the end you will also cry. To make matters scarier, this movie is based on a true case that is still unresolved.
The Invisible Guest (2016)
Director: Oriol Paulo
Writer: Oriol Paulo
Cast: Mario Casas, Ana Wagener, José Coronado, Bárbara Lennie
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min
The Invisible Guestis the second movie by Oriol Paulo in this list and also his best. Adrian is a man who has everything. His business is super successful and brought him wealth. His beautiful wife gave him a perfect child, and his equally beautiful mistress is happy to keep things hidden. Everything is just perfect until one day Adrian wakes up next to the body of his deceased mistress. He has no idea what happened, but ends up being blamed for her murder anyway.
What comes next is an intriguing and mind-twisting thriller that lays out all of its cards on the table but hides all of the tricks. As Adrian tries to clear his name, he hires a witness coach to help him generate a solid story, but as he begins to have flashbacks to the events that led him to this problem, holes start to come up in his story. The mystery is presented in an effective and pulpy way that introduces new plot elements as soon as it resolves older ones, keeping the action and intrigue going at a nice pace. It’s a Hitchcockian thriller that will keep you guessing until your jaw drops by the film’s end.
Roma (2018)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writer: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira
Run Time: 2 hr 15 min
After his hilarious and honest Y Tu Mamá También, the acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón bares his soul open and invites us into his childhood with the deeply personal, black-and-white Roma.
A story about a housemaid and the family matriarch that employs her, Roma is a beautifully told and immaculately presented movie that’s not only a deeply personal movie and love letter to the women in the director’s life, but also about the political and social change of Mexico in the ‘70s. Cuarón keeps the story focused on Cleo, the housemaid who finds her life turned upside-down due to an unexpected pregnancy, but also presents a larger story of social change in the background that eventually crosses over with the main story in a devastating and heart-breaking way. This movie is like visiting an art gallery with Alfonso Cuarón as its curator, carefully selecting chapters from his life and arranging them to maximize the empathy emanating from the exhibition. As Netflix keeps giving money to auteur directors, Roma will remain a ground-breaking moment that showed that the best films could also be found in streaming services.
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