24 contemporary Mexican movies that you can't miss
If you are always looking for a good movie, here we propose a list with 24 Mexican movies It contains some of the best titles that the Mexican film industry has given in recent decades.
This ranking contains great films of contemporary cinema that are mandatory viewing, which are presented in chronological order. Likewise, we indicate you where can you see them.
1. Dog Loves (2000)
Direction: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filmin (Es), Rakuten tv, Prime video (Mx)
This film marked the cinematographic debut of its director and the recognition of him at the international level. The film contains three stories, apparently unconnected at first, but later make sense by portraying all of the cruelty of man. On the one hand, there is the story of Octavio and Susana. On the other hand, that of Daniel and Valeria and, finally, that of Chivo and Maru.
It is a film that represented a before and after in contemporary Mexican cinema that, at the same time, began the so-called "Trilogy of Death", which would complete the titles of 21 grams (2003) and Babel (2006).
You may also like: Movie Amores perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu
2. And your mom too (2001)
Direction: Alfonso Cuaron
Gender: Drama
Available in: Atresplayer (It)
In the purest style of road movie This Cuarón film enshrined its success around the world, it was one of the highest-grossing Mexican films at the time. In it, two young people, Julio and Tenoch, undertake an aimless journey with Luisa, a young Spanish woman tired of her life whom they meet at a party.
3. The Violin (2005)
Direction: Francisco Vargas
Gender: Drama
Available in: Youtube
First film by Mexican director Francisco Vargas that starts from a short film of the same name. Shot in black and white, this film is a metaphor for injustice and repression. In it, Don Plutarco and his relatives have a double life. On the one hand, they are rural musicians and, at the same time, they are part of the guerrilla that plans to take action against the oppressive government. But, the protagonist tries to use music as a means to recover the weapons hidden in a cornfield, upon the arrival of the captain.
4. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Direction: Guillermo del Toro
Gender: Fantasy
Available in: Prime video, Rakuten tv
It is a Spanish-Mexican co-production. The film recreates a raw time, like that of the Spanish postwar period, using fantasy. Ofelia is a fatherless girl who lives with her mother and her new partner, a totalitarian man who is a captain of the Francoist army. Soon, the young woman discovers a strange creature in the forest adjacent to her house, a faun who invites her to pass three trials to return to a magical kingdom where she belongs.
5. After Lucia (2012)
Direction: Michael Franco
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filmin (Es)
Film that makes visible the theme of bullying Through the eyes of a young woman who, after losing her mother, moves with her father to Mexico City, where they both intend to start a new life after what happened. There, Alejandra starts in a new school, where she has to deal with different problems and with the hostility of her new classmates.
6.No returns accepted (2013)
Direction: Eugenio Debrez
Gender: Comedy. Drama.
Available in: Filmin (Es), Rakuten tv, Prime video (Mx)
It is one of the highest grossing Mexican films. The story revolves around Valentin, a man who has been brought up to be "brave", however, the idea of commitment terrifies him and does not have a stable relationship. One day, his life takes an unexpected turn when Julie, one of his lovers, appears with his baby. Then, the protagonist will do everything possible to make the girl happy.
You can also read: Film No returns
7. The Unusual Catfish (2013)
Direction: Claudia Sainte-Luce
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filmin (Es)
This film is inspired by a true story. Claudia is a lonely young woman who, one day, has to go to the hospital because of appendicitis. There, he meets Martha, a very sick woman who has 4 children, and a great enthusiasm for living. From that moment on, both women establish a bond that goes far beyond friendship, making Claudia one of Martha's family.
8. Heli (2013)
Direction: Amat Escalante
Gender: Drama
Available in: Atresplayer (It)
The film centers on a town in Mexico, where the 24-year-old Heli lives with his wife, his son, and his teenage sister, Estela. Soon, the girl falls in love with a cadet who proposes to her and tries to run away with him.
Heli It is a truly tough film that reflects a reality: the drama of violence in a context of the war against drug trafficking. At the time of its premiere it aroused great criticism precisely because of the cruelty shown in some scenes.
9. We Nobles (2013)
Direction: Gary alazraki
Gender: Comedy
Available in: Google play
We the noble is a satire on young descendants of well-to-do families that was a box office hit upon its release.
The lives of three wayward young men change the moment their father, an important businessman, gives them the news that his business is in bankruptcy. Faced with this situation, they are forced to work. The reality is that the man intends to teach his children a lesson, although his economic situation has not changed at all.
10. The Golden Cage (2013)
Direction: Diego Quemada-Diez
Gender: Drama
Available in: Prime video (Latin America), Filmin (Es)
The golden cage delves into a persistent theme, in the experience that thousands of people continue to suffer every day as they leave their places of origin in search of a better life. In this case, the argument centers on three adolescents, Juan, Sara and Samuel, who at the age of 15 decide to migrate with the hope of starting from scratch in the United States.
11. Güeros (2014)
Direction: Alonso Ruiz Palacios
Gender: Drama. Comedy
Available in: blim tv
Güeros it is the debut of the director Alonso Ruiz Palacios. The film, shot in black and white, is a portrait about youth and friendship. Tomás is a boy who is going to visit his brother, his Sombra, who lives in an apartment with his friend Santos. Soon, the youngsters set out on a journey to pay tribute to an old rock singer, whose music his father listened to.
12. Tropical Carmine (2014)
Direction: Rigoberto Pérezcano
Gender: Thriller
Available in: Filmin (Es), Google play
This dramatic film explores the past of Mabel, who returns after many years to her place of origin to find the murderer of her friend. To do this, she has to face her old life and revive the demons of the past.
13. Stored (2015)
Direction: Jack Zagha Kababie
Gender: Comedy
Available in: Netflix
This comedy of the absurd revolves around two characters who represent two very different generations. For one thing, Mr. Lino is a man about to retire from his position as a warehouse clerk. On the other hand, Nin is the young man who will replace him. To do this, they have to spend time together while Lino teaches her the mechanics of his work. Despite their differences, the awkward silences, both will reach the same conclusion: they are a pair of losers.
The film is based on the homonymous play by David Desola.
14. The Thin Yellow Line (2015)
Direction: Celso R. Garcia
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filmin (Es), HBO (Es), Prime video (Latin America)
The film is a Guillermo del Toro production and marked the debut of director Celso R. Garcia. In it the adventure of five men who are entrusted to paint the dividing line of the highway of two towns in Mexico is narrated. Without knowing it, the trip becomes a vital learning that will change the way of seeing the lives of its protagonists.
15. I promise you anarchy (2015)
Direction: Julio Hernández Cordón
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filminlatino
It is a love story between two young people, Miguel and Johnny, who live in Mexico City in the middle of a complicated social context. Both have known each other since they were very young and end up linked to illegal blood trafficking carried out by mafias for the black market.
16. The Chosen (2015)
Direction: David pablos
Gender: Drama
Available in: Netflix
This film explores the cruelty of trafficking in women. Two young lovers, Sofía and Ulises, find themselves involved in the dark business that the young man's father supports. Soon, Sofia becomes one more victim of trafficking in women. Meanwhile, Ulysses will do everything possible to save her.
17. Tamara and Catarina (2016)
Direction: Lucia Carreras
Gender: Drama
Available in: Filmin (Es), Filminlatino
Tamara and Catarina is a film that tries to make loneliness and exclusion visible through the story of two women, Tamara and Doña Merche, a mentally disabled woman and an old woman. Soon, the women forge a relationship that will make them essential to each other.
18. The dream of Mara´akame (2016)
Direction: Federico Cecchetti
Gender: Drama
Available in: -
This film reveals a young man's dilemma between continuing the family tradition or embarking on pursuing his dream. Nieri wants to travel with her marching band to Mexico City, however, her father wants him to follow in her footsteps and turn him into a Mara'akame. It is a beautiful film that highlights the confrontation between tradition and modernity.
19. Tempest (2016)
Direction: Tatiana Huezo placeholder image
Gender: Documentary film
Available in: Google play, Filminlatino
Storm is an interesting documentary film that narrates the lives of two women, Miriam and Adela, who, in one way or another, have been victims of the justice system. The first is a victim of the accusation of human trafficking and is serving a sentence in a jail. Meanwhile, Adela suffers the disappearance of her daughter of whom she has not known anything for years.
20. Treasures (2017)
Direction: Maria Novarro
Gender: Adventure
Available in: Prime video
Treasures it is a story that transports the viewer directly to childhood. This fiction delves into the adventure of a group of children, among them the brothers Dylan and Andrea, who think they will find a pirate treasure with the help of a map.
21. I dream in another language (2017)
Direction: Ernesto Contreras
Gender: Drama
Available in: Prime video (Latin America)
A language on the verge of extinction, Zikril, leads Martín, a young man specialized in linguistics, to take an interest in studying it so that it does not disappear. The problem comes when he learns that the only two native speakers of the language have not spoken for years. The objective of this young man will be to achieve reconciliation to prevent the zikril from being forgotten.
22. Museum (2018)
Direction: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Gender: Thriller
Available in: -
The film is inspired by a robbery at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City that took place in 1985. Gael García plays Juan Núñez here, a young man who, together with his friend Benjamin, plans a theft of large pieces of value in an iconic anthropology museum. This fact will turn their lives upside down.
23. The Maid (2018)
Direction: Lila Aviles
Gender: Drama
Available in: Prime video (En)
The maid is the directorial debut Lila Avilés that portrays the life of a woman, Eve, who earns her living as an employee in one of the most sumptuous hotels in Mexico. The young woman imagines that one day her life will improve, for which she enrolls in an adult education course that she combines with her exhausting working hours.
24. Rome (2018)
Direction: Alfonso Cuaron
Gender: Drama
Available in: Netflix
The film, shot in black and white, is a portrait of Mexican society in the 1970s. In it Cuarón reflects his childhood years through the daily life of a class family upper-middle class from Mexico City and from the eyes of Cleo, a young woman who works for them as maid.
You can also read:
- Movie Roma by Alfonso Cuarón
- The 40 best documentaries you have to watch on Netflix
