Hispanic Heritage Month is observed every year from September 15 to October 15. It serves as a reminder of all the contributions and influence that Hispanic Americans have had on both the economic and cultural development of the United States. Of course, it’s also important to point out that we should be celebrating their contributions all year long, and we should not stop once the month comes to an end.
There have been many successful and critically acclaimed directors to proudly represent the Hispanic heritage. Take Mexico for example; the country has gone from producing commercial movies for the Latin American markets to having some of the most famous directors in the industry,such as Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and many more. It’s crucial to tell stories from your own background and provide representation for the people who need it. With that being said, here are ten movies from Hispanic directors that you need to watch in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
10Bacurau (2019)
A co-production between France and Brazil,Bacurauwas written by both Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles. Labeled as a “Weird Western,” it stars Sônia Braga, Udo Kier, and many more in the lead roles. Set in the Brazilian sertão (hinterland), it revolves around a fictional town Bacurau, where, after the death of its matriarch Carmelita, strange happenings start to occur in the town. Carmelita’s granddaughter Teresa returns to the town simply for the funeral, but is forced to stay after telephone signals go down and UFO sightings appear out of nowhere. The movie was praised for casting actors who look like real people of all sizes and shapes, instead of casting an unrealistic image of what people should look like.
Related:Best Movies to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
9Amores Perros (2000)
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárrituin his feature directorial debut,Amores Perrosis a Mexican psychological thriller and is his first installment in theTrilogy of Death. It’s constructed as a tryptich as it connects three different individuals to one car accident and documents their own turbulent of ways of dealing with loss and regret. It follows El Chivo (Echevarría) who’s a professional hitman, Octavio (García Bernal), who takes part in dog fights, and Spanish supermodel Valeria (Toledo). To this day, the film is considered one of thebest movies in Mexicanfilm history.
Written and directed by Mariana Rondón,Bad Hairis a Venezuelan drama film starring Samantha Castillo and child actor Samuel Lange in the lead roles as mother and son, respectively. The plot revolves around the young boy, Junior, who becomes obsessed with straightening his curly hair, which spikes fear in his mother, Marta, who’s afraid her little boy is gay.Bad Hairexplores the tension between parents and their children, spotlighting themes of gender and sexuality against Venezuela’s political and cultural backdrop.
7Zama (2017)
Based on the 1956 novel of the same name,Zamais an Argentine period drama directed by Lucrecia Martel, starring Daniel Giménez Cacho in the lead role of Don Diego de Zama. Set in the late 18th Century, it tells the story of a magistrate in a remote outpost in Argentina, who yearns to be transferred closer to his wife and children. What’s interesting about Martel’s direction is that she doesn’t prepare storyboards in advance and only discovers what shots she wants while on-set, in the moment. What’s most important for her while filming is the sound.
6Language Lessons (2021)
Directed by actress-director Natalie Morales in her directorial debut,Language Lessonsis a drama movie starring Morales and Mark Duplass in the leading roles. The movie represents the director’s creativity as she used the increased digital communication that came about due to COVID-19 to produce an eye-catching story. The plot focuses on a man named Adam (Duplass), whose husband Will prepared a surprise for him in the form of Spanish lessons. After Will unexpectedly dies, Adam and his Spanish teacher Cariño (Morales) form an unbreakable friendship bond.
Related:Best Latin American Movies of the 2010s, Ranked
5Embrace of the Serpent (2015)
Internationally co-produced,Embrace of the Serpentis a Colombian adventure drama film shot almost entirely in black and white. Directed by Ciro Guerra, the movie is set in the Colombian Amazonian jungle and follows the indigenous shaman Karamakate, who makes two different journeys set 30 years apart with Theo, the German ethnographer, and Evan, the American botanist, both of whom are searching for the rare plant of yakruna. It explores the themes of the destroying of the Amazon jungle, as well as white colonialism. It was praised for both the cinematography and the movie’s direction and themes.
4Roma (2018)
Based on Alfonso Cuarón’s own childhood memories,Romais a drama film directed, edited, shot, and producedby Cuarón himself. Set in a neighborhood in Mexico called Colonia Roma, it follows the life of a live-in Mixteco housekeeper of an upper class family. The movie was universally critically acclaimed for its direction, screenplay, and cinematography, and is considered one of the best movies of 2018. The 91st Academy Awards saw it win the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, as well as Best Cinematography and Best Director.
3La Llorona (2019)
We’re moving on to the first horror movie on our list, and that isLa Llorona—a Guatemalan horror film directed by Jayro Bustamante. It follows former Guatemalan dictator Enrique Monteverde (based on Efraín Ríos Montt), who is responsible for orchestrating the brutal genocide of Mayan people. His case is sadly overturned by the high court, which proves that his involvement can’t be proved. The dictator’s family hires a native woman named Alma to be their mansion’s housekeeper, but are soon met with strange supernatural activity in their home. For those who don’t know,La Lloronais a Mexican horror folkore about a weeping woman who, after finding out her husband fell in love with another woman, falls into a fit of rage and drowns her children and herself.
2Ixcanul (2015)
As the first film produced in the Kaqchikel language of the Mayan family,Ixcanulis a 2015 Guatemalan drama film. It’s the writing and directorial debut of Jayro Bustamante. Set on the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala, the plot revolves around 17-year-old Maria, who gets an arranged marriage set up for her. She refuses to join the modern world until it saves her from pregnancy complications. It shows powerful imagery and scenery of an Indigenous girl and her family living and surviving under colonialism.
1The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Last but not least,directed by Luis Buñuel, we have a surrealist movie calledThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.Starring French actors Fernando Rey, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and many more, the plot follows a group of bourgeois people who attempt to have dinner together multiple times, but get constantly interrupted by a plethora of complications. The events in the movie are not logical, but simply accepted by the characters as they happen. It explores themes such as entitlement, hypocrisy, and corruption.
