Film critic Mr.Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI) recommends 25 important films to teach Spanish language.
by FilmCriticLalitRao | created - 18 Jul 2015 | updated - 05 Aug 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Héctor (2004)
TV-14 | 107 min | Drama
Adolescent Hector faces a major lifestyle change after moving into his aunt's flat in a blue-collar suburb of Madrid.
Director: Gracia Querejeta | Stars: Adriana Ozores, Nilo Zimmerman, Joaquín Climent, Unax Ugalde
Votes: 673
2. The Holy Innocents (1984)
PG | 107 min | Drama
Spain, 1960s. The family of poor farmers work hard in the countryside for the rich landowners who exploit them.
Director: Mario Camus | Stars: Alfredo Landa, Terele Pávez, Belén Ballesteros, Juan Sachez
Votes: 4,701
3. The Sea Inside (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama
The factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 85,258 | Gross: $2.09M
4. Solas (1999)
R | 101 min | Drama
While waiting for her husband to recover in a hospital, a mother stays with her estranged daughter, Maria, who fled her parents rural home in Andalusia because she could no longer bear her father's abusiveness and her mother's passivity.
Director: Benito Zambrano | Stars: María Galiana, Ana Fernández, Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa, Antonio Dechent
Votes: 3,883 | Gross: $0.37M
5. Death of a Cyclist (1955)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A couple having an affair strike a bicyclist with their car and do not offer aid out of fear of their relationship being exposed.
Director: Juan Antonio Bardem | Stars: Lucia Bosè, Alberto Closas, Bruna Corrà, Carlos Casaravilla
Votes: 4,500
6. Thesis (1996)
R | 125 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty...
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Ana Torrent, Fele Martínez, Eduardo Noriega, Xabier Elorriaga
Votes: 42,481
7. The Day of the Beast (1995)
R | 99 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Bent on committing as many sins as possible to avert the birth of the beast, a Catholic priest teams up with a Black Metal aficionado and an Italian connoisseur of the occult. Now, he must become an unrelenting sinner. Is there still hope?
Director: Álex de la Iglesia | Stars: Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza, Santiago Segura, Terele Pávez
Votes: 23,792 | Gross: $0.02M
8. Nueve cartas a Berta (1966)
90 min | Drama
Lorenzo is a young man who has just returned to Salamanca (Spain) from England, where he fell in love with Berta, a girl daughter of exiled parents who have never seen Spain. Lorenzo tries ... See full summary »
Director: Basilio Martín Patino | Stars: Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Mary Carrillo, Elsa Baeza, José María Resel
Votes: 261
9. Cría Cuervos (1976)
PG | 105 min | Drama
In the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
Director: Carlos Saura | Stars: Ana Torrent, Conchita Pérez, Mayte Sanchez, Geraldine Chaplin
Votes: 11,406
10. The Butterfly Effect (1995)
110 min | Comedy, Romance
A young Spanish student travels to London; where he falls in love with his Aunt. This has repercussions for the relationships of those around him.
Director: Fernando Colomo | Stars: Coque Malla, María Barranco, Rosa Maria Sardà, Peter Sullivan
Votes: 442
11. El viaje a ninguna parte (1986)
134 min | Comedy, Drama
The movie tells the story of a family of comedians that work in the towns of Spain during the 40's and 50's. Life gets very tough for them since they cannot compete any longer with cinema. ... See full summary »
Director: Fernando Fernán Gómez | Stars: José Sacristán, Laura del Sol, Juan Diego, María Luisa Ponte
Votes: 1,859
12. Flowers from Another World (1999)
Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Drama
In the small town of Santa Eulalia, singles organize a party attended by a coach of women marriages. Damián, Alfonso and Carmelo will seek to establish a relationship with Patricia, a ... See full summary »
Director: Icíar Bollaín | Stars: José Sancho, Luis Tosar, Lissete Mejía, Chete Lera
Votes: 1,011
13. Un asunto privado (1996)
98 min | Drama, Thriller
Alex is a famous singer who lives in a big mansion. One quiet night, a hooded stranger comes into his home, shoots the butler and then takes the mask out. Surprisingly, it's a woman. At the beginning she just want to have dinner with him.
Director: Imanol Arias | Stars: Jorge Perugorría, Antonio Valero, Pastora Vega, Fabián Vena
Votes: 35
14. Things I Never Told You (1996)
93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Ann, a cute video camera store clerk, calls a suicide hotline when her boyfriend breaks up. She speaks with Don, who volunteers there when he's not selling real estate for his dad. By chance, he finds out who Ann is.
Director: Isabel Coixet | Stars: Andrew McCarthy, Lili Taylor, Peggy West, Leslie Mann
Votes: 1,589
15. The Nest (1980)
PG | 97 min | Drama
In a town near Salamanca, an eccentric 60-year-old widower is captivated by an imp, a precocious 13-year-old. Alejandro is wealthy and alone, passing time with music, chess, and his shotgun... See full summary »
Director: Jaime de Armiñán | Stars: Héctor Alterio, Ana Torrent, Luis Politti, Agustín González
Votes: 632
16. The Nameless (1999)
R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
5 years after a mom's 6 y.o. girl is murdered, she gets a phone call from someone claiming to be the daughter. An ex cop and a reporter help. A secret group called The Nameless may be behind it all.
Director: Jaume Balagueró | Stars: Emma Vilarasau, Karra Elejalde, Tristán Ulloa, Toni Sevilla
Votes: 7,701
17. Butterfly (1999)
R | 96 min | Drama, War
Based in 1936 Spain, Moncho is an outcast at school but is able to form a strong bond with his outspoken teacher. When fascism arrives to Spain, his teacher is considered an enemy of the regime & arrested.
Director: José Luis Cuerda | Stars: Manuel Lozano, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Uxía Blanco, Gonzalo Uriarte
Votes: 9,755 | Gross: $2.09M
18. In the City of Sylvia (2007)
Unrated | 84 min | Drama
A man returns to a city to try to track down a lovely woman he met six years earlier.
Director: José Luis Guerín | Stars: Pilar López de Ayala, Xavier Lafitte, Laurence Cordier, Tanja Czichy
Votes: 2,606
19. Cows (1992)
96 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Set in the Basque region, a story of the rivalry of two families, period 1870-1935
Director: Julio Medem | Stars: Emma Suárez, Carmelo Gómez, Ana Torrent, Karra Elejalde
Votes: 3,932
20. Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953)
78 min | Comedy
After finding out that North American people are visiting the Spanish villages, the citizens of Villar del Río start preparing themselves to welcome them when they arrive.
Director: Luis García Berlanga | Stars: Lolita Sevilla, Manolo Morán, José Isbert, Alberto Romea
Votes: 4,822
21. Secrets of the Heart (1997)
105 min | Drama
Javi and his friend Carlos snoop around an old house on the way home from school. According to his brother Juan this is a haunted house and one can hear the voices of the dead. Later he is ... See full summary »
Director: Montxo Armendáriz | Stars: Carmelo Gómez, Charo López, Silvia Munt, Vicky Peña
Votes: 2,035
22. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
A television actress encounters a variety of eccentric characters after embarking on a journey to discover why her lover abruptly left her.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Rossy de Palma
Votes: 46,470 | Gross: $7.18M
23. Beltenebros (1991)
109 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Madrid, 1962. More than twenty years after the civil war has finished, a communist comes back to Spain to kill a traitor.
Director: Pilar Miró | Stars: Terence Stamp, Patsy Kensit, José Luis Gómez, Geraldine James
Votes: 335
24. To Die (or Not) (2000)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
Seven individual stories ending with each character meeting their doom are replayed with alternate endings, showing how one slight shift of events can change their fate.
Director: Ventura Pons | Stars: Carme Elias, Lluís Homar, Roger Coma, Marc Martínez
Votes: 330
25. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy
In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.
Director: Víctor Erice | Stars: Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Tellería
Votes: 20,680
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