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7 Best Movies to Learn Real Spanish
Did you know that watching Spanish movies is a great way to learn Spanish?
It not only affords you the opportunity to learn vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar but you’ll learn slang, dialects, emotion and humor as well.
In our video below and within our post, we’re sharing our seven best movies to learn Spanish—with brief, written summaries explaining each movie and where you can watch them.
Let’s get started!
Contents
- 1. “Tres metros sobre el cielo” (“Three Steps Above Heaven”)
- 2. “Como agua para chocolate” (“Like Water for Chocolate”)
- 3. “Diarios de motocicleta” (“The Motorcycle Diaries”)
- 4. “El laberinto del fauno” (“Pan’s Labyrinth”)
- 5. “Mar adentro” (“The Sea Inside”)
- 6. “El carro” (“The Car”)
- 7. “El hijo de la novia” (“The Son of the Bride”)
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
1. “Tres metros sobre el cielo” (“Three Steps Above Heaven”)
Genre: Romance/Drama
Year: 2010
Region: Spain
Where to watch: YouTube and Amazon
This film follows the story of Hugo “H” Olivera as he races through the streets of Spain, wreaking havoc and breaking hearts.
Charged with assault right from the film’s onset, “H” leads the quintessential teenage rebel’s life of motorcycles, breaking the law and chasing girls—eventually finding himself caught up in a romance that will change his life forever.
“Three Steps Above Heaven” is fun, fast-paced and predictable. Spanish learners will be able to follow the plot with ease.
2. “Como agua para chocolate” (“Like Water for Chocolate”)
Genre: Romance/Drama
Year: 1993
Region: Mexico
Where to watch: Amazon
The film “Como agua para chocolate,” is a story about family, tradition, love, life and death.
The main character, Tita, finds herself unable to marry the man she loves because of a long-held family tradition and is forever resigned to a life of longing when her sister marries him in her place.
Spanning more than 20 years, the film follows the characters throughout their lives and you’d be hard-pressed not to find yourself touched by their stories.
“Como agua para chocolate” is not only a popular film for its own sake, but contains tons of high-frequency natural Spanish that make it great for language learning as well.
3. “Diarios de motocicleta” (“The Motorcycle Diaries”)
Genre: Drama
Year: 2004
Region: Latin America
Where to watch: YouTube and Amazon
“The Motorcycle Diaries” is the story of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who worked in a leper colony while motorcycling around South America and eventually led a revolution that dramatically changed South America forever.
His experience on the road and the subsequent exposure to the incredible poverty of the local indigenous tribe inspires Guevara to think big and try to make a positive difference in the world.
While it can be slightly difficult at times, “The Motorcycle Diaries” is a fantastic watch for Spanish learners of all levels because it contains examples of slang and dialects from all around South America, which are essential for any well-rounded Spanish speaker.
4. “El laberinto del fauno” (“Pan’s Labyrinth”)
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Year: 2007
Region: Spain
Where to watch: Amazon
“Pan’s Labyrinth” is the fantastical story of a young princess who finds herself living the life of a young human girl named Ofelia in war-torn 1944 Spain.
Part war story, part fairy tale, this strange but touching film will certainly draw you in and is more than worth a watch.
With all its fantasy, “Pan’s Labyrinth” can be hard to follow from time to time, so turn those Spanish subtitles on! That being said, it’s also chock-full of great vocabulary about war, revolution and rebellion.
5. “Mar adentro” (“The Sea Inside”)
Genre: Drama
Year: 2005
Region: Spain
Where to watch: YouTube and Amazon
“The Sea Inside” is the true story of Ramón Sampedro, a man from Spain who fought to end his own life legally over a span of 28 years.
The film follows his life as he fights both lawyers and his illness, while all the while learning unexpected lessons about the meaning of life and love.
“Mar adentro” has fairly heavy vocabulary, but the sophisticated nature of the plot will keep you interested enough to ensure you soak it all up.
6. “El carro” (“The Car”)
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2003
Region: Colombia
Where to watch: Amazon
“The Car” is the story of the Vélez family and the purchase of their very own bright red Chevy cruiser.
Never having owned a car for themselves before, all five members of the family take turns adventuring out in the ancient car and enjoying the freedom that four wheels affords them. In the end though, the car means more to them than they ever thought it could.
“El carro” is fast and funny—perfect ingredients for a fun language learning experience. Even if you don’t understand every word, the ride is worth your time.
7. “El hijo de la novia” (“The Son of the Bride”)
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2002
Region: Argentina
Where to watch: Amazon
In “The Son of the Bride,” Rafael Belvedere is a down-and-out single father taking care of his young daughter while attempting to keep the family restaurant he inherited from his parents, open.
It’s a funny, yet moving story about love, family, dreams and growing old.
Not only is “El hijo de la novia” a fun, yet moving watch, but it’s also a great way to jump into the Argentinian dialect and add a bit of South American spice to your Spanish repertoire.
And, if you love learning Spanish with movies and videos, you’ll love FluentU!
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos topics, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used.
Plus, if you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and recommends examples and videos for you based on the words you’ve already learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re studying with the same video.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the iOS or Android FluentU app.
And, there you have it! Our pick of the seven best movies to learn Spanish!
Before you start tuning in, make sure to have paper and pencil next to you to jot down words you can look up later.
Learning Spanish through movies is not only fun but educational as well!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
