.Spanish Subject Guide: Latin American Films

Americano is a personal journey through the back alleys of the Americas by Peruvian-Québécois filmmaker Carlos Ferrand. Travelling from Patagonia to Nunavut over a period of four years, he revisits some of the men and women he befriended during his wanderings through the Americas: family members, fimmakers and professors, a doctor, and the cook of his childhood home. Watching Americano makes us aware of the greatest gift an immigrant can give to his new country: sharing the story of where he came from and describing the pain of exile.

Three different people are catapulted into dramatic and unforeseen circumstances in the wake of a terrible car crash: a young punk stumbles into the sinister underground world of dog fighting; an injured supermodel's designer pooch disappears into the apartment's floorboards; and an ex-radical turned hit man rescues a Rottweiler with a gunshot wound.
Tres personas diversas son echadas en circunstancias dramáticas y imprevistas después de un choque terrible: un jóven matón se enfrenta con el mundo clandestino de las peleas de perro; el perro mimado de un supermodelo lastimado desaparece bajo el piso de su apartamento; y un ex-radical convertido en asesino por encargo rescata a un Rottweiler con herida de arma.

After a lavish dinner party in a stately mansion, the guests believe themselves unable to leave the premises. As the days pass, the elaborate facades of their social positions collapse and they are forced to live like animals. Finally discovering they are actually free to leave, they go to church to give thanks, where they are again trapped.

Based on the hit novel by Ángeles Mastretta, the film portrays the story of a woman who dared to break the mold of her time. Catalina (Ana Claudia Talancón) is a woman from Puebla who marries Andrés Ascencio (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a sympathetic and powerful, as a way out of her little world and expecting to live great experiences. She soon discovers that her life has been chained to Andrés, and she has lost her freedom. Catalina will rediscover love with Carlos Vives (Jose María de Tavira), a young man who is the antithesis of Andrés.

Introduced to Latin jazz in the 1980s, when he was beginning his career as a director, Fernando Trueba has since become a devoted fan of the music. Noted jazz artists have scored for some of his films and he took his love of the music one step further in which he gathered together a number of his favorite Latin jazz artists for a series of interviews and performances.

Emilio, a teenager who often finds himself being sent to the principle's office, has a crush on Jacklynne, the most popular girl in school. He decides to run for Student Council President to win her heart, but he later finds out that she's his opponent.

Examines the 30 year rebellion and conflict between the Mexican government and the indigenous population in Chiapas.

Two documentaries about Mexican-Americans in southern Texas. Chulas fronteras features their music and culture, showing food preparation, family life, dances, fieldwork, and other social activities. Del mero corazon explores the Mexican-American norteño music tradition, showing various performers in dance halls and cantinas.

Romantic fantasy set in Mexico during the early 20th century. A young couple is blocked from marrying by the demands of the young woman's cold and selfish mother. To be near his love, the young man marries her sister, and she expresses her passion for him through her cooking.

"Julia is a phone operator in Mexico City who divides her time between her job, her daughter and the danzon: a cuban dance very popular in Mexico and Central America. Every wednesday Julia does the danzon with Carmelo in the old 'Salon Colonia'. They've danced for years but barely know each other. One night Carmelo disappears without a trace. Feeling lonely and sad, Julia takes a train to Veracruz, where she knows Carmelo has a brother. That sudden trip will change Julia's life forever."--Maximiliano Maza, www.imdb.com

In a private clinic Barco and Benigno strike up a friendship while caring for comatose women.

Peter, a young German, enters a suburban Buenos Aires restaurant; seeking only directions, he instead accidentally ends up with a plate smashing into his head, thrown by the irritable Olinda, the 60 year-old Italian immigrant owner of the restaurant. The two develop a friendship once they discover that the reasons for their having moved to Argentina are strikingly similar.

A dramatization of the decadence of Batista's Havana and the poverty that fueled the Cuban Revolution.

After learning of a former infantry mate's attempted suicide, journalist Esteban returns to the Falkland Islands (or in Argentina, known as the Malvinas) to confront the horrors he experienced as an eighteen-year-old soldier. Presents the harrowing story of a group of young men sent to fight an un-winnable war and left to bear its emotional scars.

A rundown bus station in rural Cuba becomes the backdrop for romance and miracles in Juan Carlos Tabio's blend of magical realism and social commentary.

During the Mexican Civil War, rancher Demetrio's house is burned down by a local boss. Demetrio leaves to join the revolutionary forces, but eventually joins the pro-Villa army where he is promoted to colonel before returning home for revenge.

A surrealistic, allegorical portrayal of poverty, hunger, and death in a 16th-century Mexican village.

Maria, a poor Columbian teenager, is desperate to leave a soul-crushing job. She accepts an offer to transport packets of heroin -- which she swallows -- to the United States. The ruthless world of drug trafficking proves to be more than for which she bargained.

An elderly physician that trains young people to provide health care to the poor people of a agricultural country finds out that many of his former students are being killed. He goes there to find out why these men with guns are killing anyone they want.

Presents the geography, customs and culture of Mexico as a basis for teaching Spanish to English speakers.

Tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while Rosario's mother cares for Carlitos in Mexico. Mother and son face daunting challenges and obstacles to reunite, but are sustained by their constant hope of finally being together again.

An inspirational adventure, based on the true story of two young men whose thrilling and dangerous road trip across Latin America becomes a life-changing journey of self-discovery.

A film based upon the testimony of Pablo Diaz, the only survivor of this tragic episode. In 1976, security forces kidnapped seven student leaders who were agitating for reduced bus fares. Four years later, Pablo was set free, while the other six were among the many who "disappeared" during the Argentine military dictatorship.

Enrique and Rosa are brother and sister Mayan Indian peasants, living in the mountains of Guatemala. When the village attempts to organize for better treatment, Enrique and Rosa are forced to flee as the Guatemalan army is sent in to punish the townspeople. Receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant, they make their way to Los Angeles, hoping to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.

Early one morning, Marcos observes Juan successfully pulling off a bill-changing scam on a cashier, and then getting caught as he attempts to pull the same trick on the next shift. Marcos steps in, claiming to be a policeman, and drags Juan out of the store. Once they are back on the street, Marcos reveals himself to be a fellow swindler with a game of much higher stakes in mind, and he invites Juan to be his partner in crime. A once-in-a-lifetime scheme seemingly falls into their laps - an old-time con man enlists them to sell a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. The tricky negotiations that ensue bring into the picture a cast of suspicious characters, including Marcos' sister Valeria, their younger brother Federico and a slew of thieves, conmen and pickpockets. As the deceptions mount, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who is conning whom--From imdb.com

An Argentine teacher lives in blissful ignorance of the evils perpetrated by her country's government. Over time, she begins to suspect that her adopted daughter may have been the child of a murdered political prisoner. When she attempts to unearth the truth, her investigation reveals levels of political corruption so abhorrent that the illusions of her past life are irrevocably shattered.

A fascinating look at the cultural traditions of Mexico traced through the staff of life, bread. Prehispanic, Spanish, and French influences combined to make the civilization of Mexico and its breads what they are today.

Recently retired criminal court investigator Benjamín decides to write a novel based on a twenty-five-year-old unresolved rape and murder case which still haunts him. Sharing his plans with Irene, the beautiful judge and his former colleague, Benjamín's initial involvement with the case is shown through flashbacks as he sets out to identify the murderer. But Benjamín's search for the truth will put him at the center of a judicial nightmare, as the mystery of the heinous crime continues to unfold in the present, testing the limits of a man seeking justice and personal fulfillment at last.

Sayra is a beautiful young Honduran woman who joins her father and uncle on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside en route to the United States. Along the way she crosses paths with El Casper, a teenage Mexican gang member, who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past and elude his unforgiving former associates.

Describes the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the places associated with her, the importance of her works, and problems faced by women in the 17th century.

The story of a group of Havana bohemians looking for love: Bebe, an 18-year-old Cuban who was raised in an orphanage and her two best friends, petty thief Elpidio and aspiring dancer Mariana.
The story, set in contemporary Cuba, weaves the lives of three characters: Julia, Mariana and Elpidio. In a series of flashbacks, juxtapositions, magic realism, humor and strong sexual images, their life experiences are projected on the screen. By fate, all three meet at the Plaza de la Revolucion on Santa Barbara's Day or Chango, according to African folklore.

Novice nun Viridiana does her utmost to maintain her Catholic principles, but her lecherous uncle and a motley assemblage of paupers force her to confront the limits of her idealism.

In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendship between two children is threatened by their parents' differences. Malú is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito's mother is a poor socialist who is proud of her family's social standing, and places similar restrictions on her son. What neither woman recognizes is the immense strength of the bond between Malú and Jorgito. When the children learn that Malú's mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malú's father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it.

Fifteen-year-old Alex was born an intersex child. As Alex begins to explore her sexuality, her mother invites friends, along with their 16-year-old son, to their home. Alex is attracted to the young man, adding another level of complexity for the family.