The long New Year’s Day weekend is here. What better way to spend it than comfortably sitting on your couch, catching up on a slew of great Latino movies from Latin America and the U.S. that you might have missed, whether because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, or because their streamers didn’t show them the proper promotional love? From charming coming-of-age tales to a contender for the scariest movie of the year, this list includes links on where to find them.
A quick note, several of these films were released in 2022, but did not get U.S. distribution until 2023.
From movies about Latino superheroes to cerebral documentaries about memory and loss, here are our top Latino movie picks for 2023.
‘Blondi’
Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi makes her directorial debut and portrays the titular character in this irreverent dramedy. Blondi (Fonzi) became a single mother when she was 15 years old and grew up alongside her son Mirko (Toto Rovito), now in his 20s. The film’s humor stems from their rollicking relationship, closer to that of two siblings than of a parent and child. But as Mirko seeks to find his place in the world, Blondi must come of age herself.
‘Familia’
After a long career in Hollywood, director Rodrigo García, the son of celebrated Colombian author Gabriel García Marquez, has finally made his first Spanish-language film in Mexico. Playing Leo, a patriarch who is thinking of selling the family’s ranch, actor Daniel Giménez Cacho (“Bardo”) leads this engaging ensemble piece. As he breaks the news to his four adult children, each of their personal crises begin to unravel. The star-studded cast includes Maribel Verdú (“Y Tu Mamá También) and Ilse Salas (“The Good Girls”).
‘Hurricane Season’ (‘Temporada de Huracanes’)
Based on the book of the same title by Fernanda Melchor, this multi-perspective thriller with otherworldly elements set in the state of Veracruz centers around the murder of a trans woman known as the Witch (Edgar Treviño), and the multiple people in the periphery who were involved, directly or otherwise, in the crime. The imagery that incisive director Elisa Miller and cinematographer María Secco conjure up in this piercing look at how violence breeds violence is at once unnerving and entrancing.
‘I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me’ (‘No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea’)
Darío Yazbek Bernal (“The House of Flowers”) stars in this adaption of Juan Pablo Villalobos’ award-winning novel as a young man from Guadalajara about to move to Barcelona to study. His plans of a normal transition are truncated, however, when a series of unfortunate and life-threatening events unexpectedly come his way. Writer-director Fernando Frias de la Parra follows his lauded previous project “I’m No Longer Here” with this acid comedy told, like the source material, from the perspective of multiple characters.
‘If You Were the Last’
From Puerto Rican director Kristian Mercado, who has an extensive résumé of music videos and comedy specials, comes this stylishly realized sci-fi romance. Anthony Mackie and Zoe Chao play two astronauts, each married to their respective spouse, who are considering whether, given their current circumstance, their friendship could mature into something more intimate. Since they are trapped in a malfunctioning shuttle floating in space, uncertain of whether they will ever return to Earth, lighthearted flirtatious banter ensues.
‘I Have Electric Dreams’ (‘Tengo sueños eléctricos’)
There’s a striking ferociousness coursing through the veins of Valentina Maurel’s first feature, Costa Rica’s Oscar entry for best international feature film this year. At first glance it may seem like just another coming-of-age narrative, but the tumultuous relationship between Eva (Daniela Marín Navarro), a rebellious 16-year-old, and her mentally unstable father Martín (Reinaldo Amien), straddles violence and tenderness in a way that’s both occasionally shocking and touching. It’s the work of an impressively perceptive artist.
‘Miguel Wants to Fight’
Following his first feature, “Vampires in the Bronx,” Dominican director Oz Rodriguez continues to populate fun genre vehicles with Latino characters, this time working from a screenplay by Shea Serrano and Jason Concepcion. Desperate to prove himself to his peers before moving away, high-schooler Miguel (Tyler Dean Flores) decides to get into a fight. But that’s easier said than done for a noob. A singular teen comedy, it packs plenty of classic action film references and even some animation flourishes.
‘A Million Miles Away’
One of Mexico’s most exciting directors today, Alejandra Márquez Abella, makes her English-language debut with this biopic about José Moreno Hernández, the Mexican American child of migrant farmworkers who became a NASA astronaut. With Michael Peña in the lead role, the inspirational tale tracks Hernández’s improbable path from working in the fields with his parents, through the numerous rejections he received from the space program, before his determination prevailed and he achieves his dream.
‘Noise’ (‘Ruido’)
Veteran Mexican actress Julieta Egurrola renders a potent, heart-wrenching performance as Julia, a mother, like countless others across Mexico, whose daughter has vanished. Drowning in rage and desperation without answers from authorities, she finds not only solace, but the will to fight in other women, young and old, raising their voices against a violence that has become so commonplace. A family affair, the affecting drama is directed by Egurrola’s own daughter, Natalia Beristain, a prolific storyteller of great sensibility.
‘Sansón and Me’
Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Sansón, a young Mexican immigrant, became a victim of circumstance. Seasoned filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes, who served as Sansón’s interpreter during his trial, reconnected with him through numerous letters, which then served as the basis for the narration and the dramatized segments in this form-pushing and devastatingly introspective work.
Streaming on PBS and available on VOD
‘When Evil Lurks’ (‘Cuando la maldad acecha’)
A strong candidate for the most terrifying movie of the year, the latest from director Demián Rugna (known for the equally bone-chilling “Terrified”) is set in a remote Argentine town. Two brothers, Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomón), discover that a demon is about to be unleashed on their community. But in their efforts to prevent that from happening, they set in motion the spread of even more horrific events. Like few horror directors today, Rugna excels at delivering long-lasting nightmare fuel.
‘You Were My First Boyfriend’
In this fascinating exercise of painful self-reflection, documentarian Cecilia Aldarondo (“Landfall”), whose work always shines for being profoundly personal, re-creates vignettes from her adolescent years. She particularly focuses on those moments that marked her negatively and that continue to linger within her decades later. Co-directed with Sarah Enid Hagey, this cinematic time machine allows Aldarondo to remember who she was then, and in turn examine who she’s become in spite of, or because of, those experiences.
