KnowledgeHive

Starting to learn Spanish but want more practice hearing and understanding the language? It can feel difficult learning a new language when you don’t have easy opportunities for daily immersion, but there are solutions. One easy way to help with your Spanish learning is to turn your movie time into Spanish practice! Here are our top Spanish movies — all picked by our team of amazing linguists.

The Best Spanish Movies To Learn With

Arrugas (“Wrinkles”)

Where To Watch: Available to rent on various streaming platforms.

Arrugas is a 2011 Spanish animated film by Ignacio Ferreras. It’s perfect for beginners (those at level A2 according to the CEFR). The film is based on an award-winning graphic novel by Paco Roca, and it follows the story of two elderly men — one with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease — who live in a nursing home. The main characters in the film speak slowly and clearly, which is perfect for those just starting to learn Spanish. Furthermore, the plot is easy to follow, and the vocabulary revolves around food, hobbies and family.

El laberinto del fauno (“Pan’s Labyrinth”)

Where To Watch: Available to rent on various streaming platforms.

One of the most successful Spanish films among people who don’t speak the language, Pan’s Labyrinth won numerous awards and garnered significant acclaim for its director, Guillermo del Toro. Though del Toro is Mexican, El laberinto del fauno takes place shortly after the bloody Spanish Civil War. It weaves many aspects of the oppressive Francoist regime into the mystical storyline.

Watchers can pick up a lot of Spanish vocabulary about war, revolution and rebellion, as well as many fantasy terms. It’s also narrated from a young girl’s point of view, and seamlessly mixes historical details with a dark, fairytale world. Knowing some of the historical background can make this movie easier to understand. The story is still easy to follow for intermediate learners (level B1/B2), though.

La comunidad (“Common Wealth”)

Where To Watch: Available for free (with ads) on PlutoTV, and available for rent from various other streaming platofrms.

La comunidad is a black comedy directed by Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia. If you like your movies a little off-kilter — maybe death, money, angry neighbors and humor wrapped together is your thing — then you’ll enjoy watching this film, and get the extra benefit of improving your Spanish! It’s perfect for intermediate level learners, as you’ll learn vocabulary about communities and neighborhoods, as well as how to express opinions and hypotheses. As far as movies to learn Spanish go, this is one of the quirkier ones!

También la lluvia (“Even the Rain”)

Where To Watch: Available to stream on Netflix, and available to stream on various other streaming platforms.

Another award-winning film to help you learn Spanish is Iciar Bollaín’s También la lluvia. This movie takes place against the backdrop of the Cochabamba Water War in Bolivia in 2000, when tens of thousands of Bolivians protested against the privatization of the local water supply company. The plot itself deals with the filming of a movie in Cochabamba at the time of the protests and tells the (fictional) story of how the cast and crew end up involved in the movement. Of course, having some knowledge of the crisis and the following protests can help learners better understand the film.

Out of the many movies to learn Spanish, this pick has some added benefits for learners. It features several different types of Spanish accents to help you adjust your ear, including Mexican, Spanish and Bolivian. It also features vocabulary about film-making, so it’s the perfect aide to help you talk about the films we’ve listed here.

El secreto de sus ojos (“The Secret in their Eyes”)

Where To Watch: Available to rent from various streaming platforms.

If you prefer movies with an element of suspense, then Juan José Campanella’s El secreto de sus ojos will be perfect for your Spanish learning. This Argentinian thriller won Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. It seamlessly weaves together a dramatic and unpredictable story across 25 years and makes for an enthralling watch. This selection is perfect for intermediate learners because it will help you develop vocabulary about justice, crimes and other complex societal concepts.

Tesis (“Thesis”)

Where To Watch: Not currently available for streaming in the United States.

Finally, if you found the crimes featured in El secreto de sus ojos to be too tame, you might enjoy the horror flick Tesis. Directed by Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, Tesis follows the story of a young university student as she writes her thesis about the effects of visual violence on society. In her journey to discover more about her thesis topic, she finds something sinister in her university’s library — and ends up getting involved in the mystery herself.

This last selection on our list of movies to learn Spanish is well-suited for intermediate learners (level B1). It can help refresh and improve previously-learned vocabulary about film and television. You’ll also have the chance to practice vocabulary about academic studies and university life.

Bonus: Short Films

• El número — This short film is by Spanish director Marco Besas, and is perfect for those at an upper beginner level (A2). Having previous knowledge about vocabulary related to stationery can help you understand the details, but the story is easy enough to follow for newbies as well. Here you can learn vocabulary about life (including birth and death), how to express your feelings and how to talk about your dreams.
• Diez minutos — If you’re at a more upper intermediate than beginner level, you’ll enjoy Alberto Ruiz Rojo’s short film. Here you can pick up different expressions of anger, how to ask and give information and other vocabulary useful for communication.