{"id":5629,"date":"2019-09-07T05:42:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-07T05:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.menteargentina.com\/blog\/?p=5629"},"modified":"2026-10-07T20:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:36:18","slug":"top-argentine-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.menteargentina.com\/blog\/top-argentine-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Best Argentine Movies to Watch: A Guide to Argentine Cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argentine cinema is one of the richest and most internationally recognized film traditions in Latin America. From dark comedies and crime thrillers to stories about dictatorship, immigration, family life and everyday Buenos Aires, Argentine movies offer an unusually good window into the country’s history, humor, language and culture.<\/p>\n\n

If you are learning Spanish in Buenos Aires<\/strong><\/a> or studying abroad in Argentina, watching local films is also a great way to train your ear for Rioplatense Spanish<\/em>, become familiar with Argentine expressions and understand cultural references you will hear in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n

Argentina has a particularly important place in international cinema. The Official Story<\/em> became the country’s first winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and The Secret in Their Eyes<\/em> later won the same award. More recently, Argentina, 1985<\/em> was nominated for Best International Feature Film.<\/p>\n\n

Below are ten Argentine movies we recommend watching, whether you are preparing for your time in Buenos Aires or simply want a better introduction to Argentine cinema.<\/p>\n\n

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1. Nine Queens \/ Nueve reinas (2000)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Crime, thriller, dark comedy<\/p>\n\n

Nueve reinas<\/em> is one of the best introductions to Buenos Aires on film. Two small-time con artists, Juan and Marcos, meet by chance and become involved in an increasingly elaborate scheme involving a supposedly rare set of stamps known as the Nine Queens.<\/p>\n\n

The story unfolds almost entirely in Buenos Aires and is full of deception, improvisation and chamuyo<\/em>, the distinctly Argentine art of persuasive talk. The less you know about the ending before watching it, the better.<\/p>\n\n

It is also an excellent movie for Spanish learners because the dialogue exposes you to natural Argentine pronunciation, vocabulary and humor.<\/p>\n\n

2. The Secret in Their Eyes \/ El secreto de sus ojos (2009)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Crime, drama, romance<\/p>\n\n

A retired judicial employee revisits an unresolved murder case that has stayed with him for decades, as well as the complicated relationship he had with a colleague involved in the investigation.<\/p>\n\n

The film moves between different periods of Argentine history while combining crime, memory, love and obsession. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and remains one of Argentina’s most internationally recognized movies.<\/p>\n\n

Ricardo Dar\u00edn, one of the country’s best-known actors, gives one of his defining performances.<\/p>\n\n

3. Wild Tales \/ Relatos salvajes (2014)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Black comedy, drama<\/p>\n\n

Wild Tales<\/em> consists of six independent stories connected by one basic idea: ordinary people reaching their breaking point.<\/p>\n\n

Road rage, bureaucracy, revenge, inequality and a disastrous wedding all become vehicles for an exaggerated but strangely recognizable version of Argentine frustration.<\/p>\n\n

The movie is fast, funny, dark and highly accessible even if you have never watched Argentine cinema before. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.<\/p>\n\n

4. Argentina, 1985 (2022)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Historical drama, courtroom drama<\/p>\n\n

Argentina, 1985<\/em> tells the story of prosecutors Julio C\u00e9sar Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo and the team that worked on the historic Trial of the Juntas following Argentina’s last military dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n

The film combines an important moment in Argentine democratic history with a surprisingly human and accessible style. It stars Ricardo Dar\u00edn and Peter Lanzani and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.<\/p>\n\n

For international students who want to better understand modern Argentina, this is one of the most useful contemporary films to watch.<\/p>\n\n

5. The Official Story \/ La historia oficial (1985)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Historical drama<\/p>\n\n

Alicia, a history teacher living in Buenos Aires, begins questioning the origins of her adopted daughter as Argentina emerges from the military dictatorship of 1976\u20131983.<\/p>\n\n

Her search forces her to confront uncomfortable truths about the disappearances, clandestine detention centers and appropriation of children that occurred during that period.<\/p>\n\n

The Official Story<\/em> became the first Argentine movie to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and remains essential viewing for understanding how cinema helped Argentina confront its recent history.<\/p>\n\n

6. The Distinguished Citizen \/ El ciudadano ilustre (2016)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Comedy, drama<\/p>\n\n

Daniel Mantovani is an Argentine writer living in Europe who has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. After decades abroad, he accepts an invitation to return to his small hometown in Argentina to receive a local award.<\/p>\n\n

What begins as a triumphant homecoming gradually becomes much more uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n

The movie is funny, awkward and increasingly dark, exploring fame, identity, provincial life and the complicated relationship people can have with the places they come from.<\/p>\n\n

7. Sidewalls \/ Medianeras (2011)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Romantic comedy, drama<\/p>\n\n

If you want a movie about what it actually feels like to live in Buenos Aires, Medianeras<\/em> is an excellent choice.<\/p>\n\n

Mart\u00edn and Mariana live close to one another in the enormous city but repeatedly fail to meet. Their stories unfold through apartments, architecture, technology, loneliness and the peculiar rhythm of urban life in Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n\n

The city itself becomes one of the film’s main characters, making this especially fun to watch before or during a stay in Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n\n

8. The Clan \/ El clan (2015)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Crime, drama<\/p>\n\n

Based on the real Puccio family case, El clan<\/em> follows an apparently conventional family living in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro during the early years after the military dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n

Behind that respectable appearance, members of the family were involved in kidnapping people for ransom.<\/p>\n\n

The contrast between ordinary family life and organized violence makes the story particularly unsettling. The film also provides a glimpse into a complicated transitional moment in Argentine society.<\/p>\n\n

9. Burnt Money \/ Plata quemada (2000)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Crime, drama, romance<\/p>\n\n

Based on Ricardo Piglia’s novel and inspired by a real robbery, Plata quemada<\/em> follows a group of criminals who flee Buenos Aires and hide in Uruguay after a violent heist.<\/p>\n\n

At the center of the story is the intense relationship between Nene and \u00c1ngel, two members of the group.<\/p>\n\n

The movie combines crime cinema with a destructive love story and has become one of the more distinctive Argentine films of its era.<\/p>\n\n

10. The Aura \/ El aura (2005)<\/h2>\n\n

Genre:<\/strong> Crime, psychological thriller<\/p>\n\n

In director Fabi\u00e1n Bielinsky’s second and final feature film, Ricardo Dar\u00edn plays a quiet taxidermist who has an unusual fascination with imagining the perfect crime.<\/p>\n\n

During a hunting trip in Patagonia, circumstances unexpectedly give him the possibility of entering the criminal world he has previously only imagined.<\/p>\n\n

Compared with the energetic pace of Nueve reinas<\/em>, El aura<\/em> is slower, darker and more atmospheric, showing a very different side of Argentine filmmaking.<\/p>\n\n

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Which Argentine Movie Should You Watch First?<\/h2>\n\n

If this is your first introduction to Argentine cinema, we recommend starting with Nine Queens<\/em><\/strong>, Wild Tales<\/em><\/strong> or The Secret in Their Eyes<\/em><\/strong>. All three are accessible, entertaining and offer plenty of Argentine language and cultural context.<\/p>\n\n

If you are especially interested in Argentine history, watch The Official Story<\/em><\/strong> followed by Argentina, 1985<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

And if you want to see Buenos Aires itself become part of the story, Sidewalls<\/em><\/strong> is an excellent choice.<\/p>\n\n

Can Watching Argentine Movies Help You Learn Spanish?<\/h2>\n\n

Absolutely. Movies expose you to accents, rhythm, informal vocabulary and cultural references that are difficult to learn from a textbook alone.<\/p>\n\n

Argentine Spanish, particularly the variety spoken in Buenos Aires and the R\u00edo de la Plata region, has several characteristics you will quickly notice:<\/p>\n\n