Welcome to the español eXtra Spanish Cineclub! Here you will find film recommendations, reviews, trailers and clips (linked from YouTube), worksheets, special offers and more!
There is an increasing number of good quality films from Spanish and Latin-American film directors which can form the basis of interesting and enriching lessons teaching pupils and students about
the cultural context of the Spanish-speaking world as well as exposing them to the language used authentically.
We hope you will become interested in using film as a means to motivate and interest your learners!
It has never been cheaper or more convenient to get hold of Spanish language films.
HMV stock a huge range online, starting from as little as
under £5.00 and they also offer free postage and home delivery!
"NACIDO Y CRIADO" (Pablo Trapero, Argentina) - WELL WORTH A LOOK!
When the man who has it all suddenly loses it all, his life can make such an unforeseen shift that not even he is
prepared for the outcome. In Pablo Trapero’s Born and Bred, the man in this case is Santiago, a successful interior
designer, married to Milli, a sleek beauty with a striking onscreen presence. Together, they have a daughter and
live a secure life within the decorated walls of their stylish house in Buenos Aires.
Sadly, disaster befalls them on a rare family trip, but before you can assess what has occurred, the screen is
washed out with the white, desolate landscape of endless plains and snow-capped mountains looming in the background.
The bleak environment slowly becomes recognizable; in the distance, figures can be seen trudging along through a thick
forest, knee deep in snow, with rifles in hand. We have been transported to the barren locale of Patagonia in southern
Argentina, where these figures are on the hunt for loose hares and deer.
Santiago has isolated himself in a grim, abandoned town where he has assimilated a new lifestyle for himself,
completely forgoing what he once had. He works alongside Roberto, a haggard slouch, at the local airport.
They try to make some extra cash from hunting for pelts and furs. Santiago has taken on a new existence,
but reels in pain from what he left behind. We see him awaken in the middle of night, battling bouts of stomachaches
and going through a horrid spell of cold sweats. The only links he attempts to maintain with his past life are the
brief phone calls to his family back in Buenos Aires, which are few and far between.
Clearly, Santiago is dealing with an event for which he feels ultimately guilty, and cannot bring himself to face
those who loved him when he was with them. The film employs a stark cinematography, a precise soundtrack, and genius
camerawork, as the images move fluidly across the screen, presenting us the story of a broken man.
We are aware of the influence the environment has upon Santiago. He locks himself up with his fellow neighbors;
men, who like him, for some reason or other, drink to forget and pay no mind to their lowly existence in a town full of
“zombies”. They are no men stuck in a no land; hermits forever placed under a grey sky with no end in sight.
A slow, repetitive pace allows the film to morph into a meditative piece on redemption and reconciliation.
Santiago yearns for forgiveness, in some way or other.
An amazing adult fairy tale set immediately after the Spanish Civil War. A young girl must travel with her widowed mother to live with her new stepfather, a sadistic fascist army officer charged with flushing out the last of those resisting General Franco in an obscure corner of Spain. On her arrival, the girl soon finds her way into a magical labyrinth where she meets a mysterious creature who tells her she is the lost princess of a fairy kingdom and must complete several trials in order to get back to her old life. Reality and fantasy blur in this sensational movie, which swings between images both whimsical and beautiful and scenes of harsh, violent brutality. The film sometimes lulls you with its fairy tale style, so when the horrific moments hit you they hit with shocking force. Fantastic performances, eye popping and imaginative special effects and make-up combine with masterful storytelling to create a brilliant grown-up fairy tale epic.
Set in Patagonia, this Argentinian drama follows the story of Juan who is given an enormous pure-bred Dogo Argentino named Bombón when he helps a stranded motorist. Juan regains his dignity and finds a new vocation when he enters Bombon in dog shows.
Life is not at all easy for 52-year-old Juan "Coco" Villegas. He, who has been a gas station attendant for twenty years in Patagonia, finds himself jobless overnight. He first tries to survive by selling knives of his own making. But business is bad and he can't find real work. One day though, after fixing a vehicle on a farm, he gets paid by means of a beautiful Argentinian pedigree dog called Bombón.
adictosalcine.com - film clip (Spanish)
Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, the Devil's Backbone is an inventive and stylish film that defies categorisation; at times it's a supernatural thriller, a war film and also a story of lost youth. Director Guillermo del Toro's film is a fascinating story of a young boy sent to an orphanage during the civil war in Spain, here he finds that dark secrets are hidden in the building and as the war outside the walls changes their lives so do the events within the walls.
Set in an isolated orphanage during the Spanish Civil War, a young boy is terrorised by the ghost of Santi, another orphan whom supposedly ran away. The ghost itself is a work of creepy genius. Decomposing as if in water, Santi seems almost to float - with blood trickling out of a deep head wound and rising into the air. However, it is the living characters that provide the meat of the story.
Every character is haunted in some way, whether by abandonment, contrary ideology, love or even greed. The ghost itself almost plays second fiddle to the living characters as they struggle with their inner demons, which makes the film almost impossible to describe. Part horror, part romance, part Lord of the Flies, part war movie. Hardly ever has a movie tried to do so much and succeed so well.
While the ghost itself is frightening, the living characters are terrifying. But this is the point of the picture. 'The living will always be more dangerous than the dead'.
YouTube.com - full-length trailer (Spanish)
Raimunda is trying to keep her family together despite her husband's inability to keep down a job. When a terrible incident occurs at home, Raimunda covers it up in order to protect her daughter, Paula. Meanwhile, Raimunda's sister Sole believes that their mother, Irene, has come back from the dead.
Following the passing away of their mother in a fire, Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Duenas), leave their home town of La Mancha to live in Madrid. Raimunda lives with her daughter and unsupportive husband, taking on menial jobs, while Sole works in secret as a hairdresser. The only member of their family to remain in La Mancha is their Aunt Paula, who speaks of their deceased mum as if she were alive. The sisters also visit their friend Augustina, who remains devastated by the death of the mother. When Paula dies, the situation changes and the sisters find themselves communicating with their apparently deceased mother. Pedro Almodovar directs this mysterious and suspenseful film with panache and Penelope Cruz--with the enhancement of a prosthetic backside--shines in a sparkling performance.
YouTube.com - full-length trailer (Spanish + English subtitles)
Valentin is only eight-years-old, living in 1969 Buenos Aires, and is obsessed by space exploration. He lives with his grandmother while his divorced father searches the city for more female talent. One day he hatches a plot to bring life and love back into his father's life.
This heart-warmer concerns precocious eight-year-old Valentin (Rodrigo Noya), who lives alone with his grandmother in Buenos Aires in the early 1960s. Longing to be reunited with his absent mum, Valentin lives with his eccentric grandma (long-time Almodóvar star Carmen Maura) and deals with the occasional visits from his reprobate father (director Alejandro Agresti). For solace, Valentin visits a kindly musician (Mex Uritzberea) who urges the boy to hang on to his dream of becoming Argentina's first astronaut. Valentin also develops a bond with Leticia (Juliete Cardinali), one of his dad's young girlfriends. Valentin is replete with poignant optimism, wry commentary, and a cupid-like need to play matchmaker for the nicer adults in his life. As engaging as he is, the film gets stolen by the wonderful Cardinali (a TV star in Argentina) who radiates angelic warmth in her too-few scenes. Agresti suffuses the film with well-observed period detail that only hints at the political turmoil of the time (Argentina was in the grip of the infamous "reign of terror" throughout the '60s and '70s). VALENTIN is one of those films that manages to win a viewer's heart without pulling any harsh reality punches.
YouTube.com - film clip (Spanish)
Historias Mínimas is another Sorin road movie, which unfolds in the southern Argentinean region of Patagonia. "Historias Mínimas" unpretentiously chronicles a trio of separate yet interweaving stories about ordinary people attempting to follow their dreams.
The octogenarian Don Justo (Antonio Benedictti) has handed over the running of his grocery store to his son and daughter-in-law. Fading eyesight prevents him from driving, but he resolves to hitchhike to the distant town of San Julián, where somebody has spotted his beloved missing dog, Malacara or Badface.
Elsewhere, an obsessive travelling salesman, Roberto (Javier Lombardo), is planning to surprise a young widow with the gift of a birthday cake for her kid. Unsure of the child's gender, the suitor decides to change the design of the present from the shape of a football to that of a turtle.
And in the third, less developed segment, the impoverished María (Javiera Bravo) is heading to the recording of television game show Multicoloured Casino with her baby, intent on gaining a prize.
Contrasting the epic Patagonian landscapes with the modesty of his characters' aspirations, Sorin has crafted an appealing portrait of this remote region, where television provides the inhabitants with their main link to the wider world.
Convincingly acted by the mainly non-professional cast, "Historias Mínimas" is further proof of the diversity and strength of contemporary Argentinean cinema.
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