The high level of the best Spanish films of 2018 once again vindicate the exceptional moment that Spanish cinema is going through. Below we present the most anticipated premieres that have met expectations and award-winning films around the world that we have been able to enjoy this 2018.
- You can also read: The 25 most famous Spanish actors in history.
The best Spanish comedy movies
From suburban superheroes to a most endearing basketball team, the great talents of Spanish comedy like Javier Fesser, Santiago Segura and Dani Rovira have come back to the big screen to make us laugh at what cute. Among the best Spanish comedies of 2018 are the following comedies:
1. Champions
Increasingly far removed from the primitive and hormonal Hollywood comedy, Spanish comedy has managed to find in recent years the balance point that mixes humor with depth , reaching to the viewer’s heart through a funny story.
The film Champions, by an old acquaintance of the genre in Spain such as Javier Fesser, presents a story that against all odds manages to avoid the danger that the comic spirit is swallowed up by the tearful dramatic story. Far from that, it becomes one of the most recommended proposals of 2018 due to its intelligent perspective.
In addition, the cast is headed by a Javier Gutierrez in a state of grace who here puts himself in the shoes of a basketball coach in crisis who takes on the challenge of leading a team made up of disabled people.
2. Superlopez
Following a bit in the wake of Anacleto, agent secret (2015), this 2018 has reached our screens a success of Spanish comedy from the hand of a suburban superhero, Superlopez. The adaptation of this classic Spanish comic created by cartoonist Jan manages to capture the essence of comics.
That is why it becomes a tribute to nostalgia and an invitation to escape for an hour and a half long in the fun memory of Superlopez, that anonymous hero who, between croissants and coffee with milk, assumed the task of saving the world.
Javier Ruiz Caldera directs this film with the performance of Dani Rovira, who this time puts on the mustache and the Superlopez suit to embody Spanish mediocritywho, many times and inexplicably, becomes a genius.
3. Without rodeos
The return of Santiago Segura away from the stigma that the Torrente saga has brought him in recent years vindicates him as a born talent for laughter. Although he does not manage to escape from the neighborhood costumbrista aesthetic, instead he manages to get away from the primitive humor of the “foolish arm of the law” to offer us a refined comedy with a sharper humor.
Without rodeos rediscovers the versatility of Maribel Verdu , surrounded by other familiar faces such as David Guapo, Cristina Pedroche, Enrique San Francisco, Candela Pena, Toni Acosta, Alaska and Santiago Segura himself.
A good choice for a laugh with a less simple plot: Paz (Maribel Verdu) loses control of her actions when she ingests the potion of a Hindu healer who wants to free her from stress and anxiety. From there the nonsense follows.
4. La tribu
Just to witness the reunion of the Paco Leon-Carmen Machi tandem after the overwhelming success of Aida, it is already worth seeing La tribu, a film directed, written and conceived by Fernando Colomo to showcase these authentic comedy stars .
Although it is not a work of ingenuity that will go down in the history of Spanish humor, La tribu allows us to forget our problems and laugh for a long time thanks to the hilarious dances of “Las Mamis”, the streetdance group of some neighborhood fans including Virginia (Carmen Machi).
The dance is the pretext for that common cleaner with common problems to get closer to her son Fidel (Paco Leon), who after an accident has forgotten that her mother gave him up for adoption. A movie to have a great time and load up on good vibes .
5. Time after
The best thing about Time after is the wide range of great actors and comedians that it offers us: in it you can enjoy Blanca Suarez, Roberto Alamo, Arturo Valls, Antonio de la Torre, Miguel Rellan, Joaquin Reyes, Raul Cimas, Berto Romero, Andreu Buenafuente, Secun De La Rosa, Gabino Diego, Eva Hache and much more.
With such potential, Jose Luis Cuerda proposes a futuristic post-apocalyptic science fiction story : in the distant future, around a tower run by a tyrant, two civil guards, an enlightened barber and other social parasites, the unemployed and unfortunates among which is Jose Maria, who wants to get rich selling lemonade.
A genius of Master Cuerda that will be released on December 28 .
- More comedy: The 20 best funny movies to have a good time.
The best Spanish thriller films
Films such as El cuerpo and Contratiempo have consolidated the high level of Spanish thrillers with their own brand, a trend that has been maintained so that the following suspense films are among the best of 2018:
6. El Reino
The sum of two great talents of contemporary Spanish cinema such as the director Rodrigo Sorogoyen (who captivated the public with May God forgive them) and the actor Antonio de la Torre (who has established himself as one of the favorites of the genre for films like Tarde for anger) is enough of a reason to watch The Kingdom.
The result does not disappoint and is placed in the head of the best of Spanish cinema of 2018. Sorogoyen’s camera releases adrenaline in a social portrait of the Spain of corruption that reissues (and far exceeds) the success of One Hundred Years of Forgiveness.
In El Reino Antonio de la Torre embodies the struggle for survival of a politician immersed in a corruption case that the system wants to turn into a scapegoat . The movie has moments of such rawness and realism that it blushes and scares.
She has been awarded at the San Sebastian Festival and the Toronto International Festival.
7. The notice
If you like suspense movies worked with code numbers only within the reach of privileged minds, you have to see The notice, a highly recommended proposal directed by Daniel Calparsoro and starring Raul Arevalo.
A boy receives a death threat through a message that everyone will ignore, except Jon, a passionate about numbers who investigates a chain of murders committed in the same place in different years. Discovering the relationship that unites these murders , deciphering the code, leaves you an hour and a half nailed to the sofa.
At times it lacks vigor and has plenty of fantasy, but although it may seem somewhat innocent and unlikely in some sections, as a whole it offers an attractive puzzle that places it among the best Spanish premieres.
8. The shadow of the law
This 2018 we have also seen on the big screen one of the best thrillersfrom the hand of Dani de la Torre, directing, and Luis Tosar, Michelle Jenner, Vicente Romero and Ernesto Alterio, acting.
An ambitious and grandiloquent production that presents an original and historical police thriller set in the Spain of gunmen (in the 1920s). The story may lack hook and disintegrate between the fingers, but it is made up for by brutal narrative pacing, an irresistibly suffocating atmosphere, and sweeping action.
A movie not to be missed if you haven’t seen it yet and you are passionate about gangster stories .
9. The Tree of Blood
This thriller set in the Basque Country invites us to the journey that a young couple makes to the roots of their family, a return to the past that will be like a Pandora’s box that reveals secrets and intrigues wrapped in passions, loves and heartbreaks. All the ingredients for a vertiginous thriller of the most complete .
Ursula Corbero and Alvaro Cervantes lead the team of actors in a film whose ramifications take root in a tree under whose roots lies the mystery . The narration and the script are the best of an overflowing Julio Medem.
In addition to family passions, the intrigue includes real estate speculation and racketeering, with moments that will grab you right in .
10. Everybody knows
The proven resume of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi gets his doctorate in this film, the first Spanish bill for the talented filmmaker. Nothing more and nothing less than Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Ricardo Darin put themselves at his command for a family thriller where seemingly normal situations overflow.
In All the Know you will find one of the most rhythmic intrigues whose plot twists, sometimes lost in excess, end up finding common sense thanks to Farhadi’s disturbing genius . A dark and distressing story about the fear of loss with which, in addition to having a good time, you will enjoy great performances .
11. Animals without a collar
Even if it is only to witness the ambitious daring of a new director like Jota Rodriguez, it is worth seeing Animals without a collar, a suspense sponsored by the producer of Tarde para la ira that adds to the fertile terrain of political thrillers .
Although he reveals himself to be precise and sure in the sobriety of restraint, when his narrative and aesthetic talent unleashes in the passionate direction is when Jota Rodriguez shows off his genius uncompassionately. Without a doubt, one of the great surprises of this year that, if you have not seen, you cannot miss.
In it you will follow the disturbing appearance of a disgraced high-ranking official in the promising new life of a politician devoted to the fight for the most disadvantaged and his wife, a woman who treasuresa secret capable of making everything shake .
The best Spanish drama films
The most tender stories came to our screens to break our hearts and bring tears of pain to our eyes, but also of happiness in the face of pleasant cinematographic surprises by emerging and established authors.
12. The photographer from Mauthausen
Mar Tarragona succeeds in the difficult task of obtaining a firm work with a great limitation of means , which in today’s cinema implies the risk of overflowing with talent. The director achieves it in a story that, beyond its austerity, is moving for its realism.
A tragic realism, if we take into account that it is based on the true story of Francesc Boix, a Catalan deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp who decided to risk his life to show the world the Nazi horror. Together with a clandestine group, they plan to remove from the field the negatives of the photographs that portray the harsh reality of the place.
Mario Casas carries the interpretive weight of the film on his shoulders. To represent his role , he lost 22 kilos , and the result will leave you shocked. Do not miss it.
13. Who will sing to you
The rare movie of 2018 is Who will sing to you, the story of the most successful movie star of the nineties (Lila Cassen) who loses her talent after an accident, and whose biggest fan, an anonymous girl whose big dream is to be Lila Cassen and who receives the task of giving the singer back her essence .
Winner of the San Sebastian Festival, this film by director Carlos Vermut (who stood out in 2014 with Magical Girl) stands as a firm candidate to be one of the great films of current Spanish cinema .
Don’t get your hopes up: it’s not an easy movie, and it’s easy to get lost in the midst of so much overflowing talent. When you manage to enter his soul you will discover the true treasure of this wonder thatreturns us to the heart of the best Almodovar .
14. Journey to a Mother’s Room
Among the best Spanish films of 2018, this intimate drama by Celia Rico has to be, which has a brutal acting duo in Anna Castillo and Lola Duenas. It is one of those remarkable wonders that show us, from time to time, that to make good cinema you only need a good story full of good intentions.
Sobriety and austerity manage to frame in depth the deep wound of human relationships when maternal love turns into pain and anguish. Lola Duenas dazzles with an interpretive tribute to sadness in the role of a mother who fears losing her daughter, an Anna Castillo who surprises with her naturalness.
Do not miss this movie in which, in addition to breaking your soul, a new star will discover you in the Spanish direction .
15. Loving Pablo
Undoubtedly the most international Spanish-made film of 2018 that returns to relapse into an inexhaustible theme, Pablo Escobar’s vein. In this case, the dark side of his business gives way to the romantic side.
Those who have followed the series Narcos will easily recognize the character of Virginia Vallejo, the Colombian journalist who had a passionate romancewith the most admired mobster of all time. This film follows the traces that Vallejo herself left on her love story with Pablo, written in her book.
Although the theme may seem recurrent and Fernando Leon de Aranoa’s cinematographic skills fail to overcome the fence of repetition, it is worth seeing a (again) outstanding Javier Bardem who eats his character, alongside Penelope Cruz.
16. Petra
Jaime Rosales enhances her name with what is already, surely, her best film. Nominated for best screenplay at the Fenix Awards and for best actress (Barbara Lennie) at the European Film Awards, there are many reasons to choose this film as one of the best.
It is one of those meticulously written stories that still make cinema continue to excite us. It leaves you hooked from the first moment with the story of Petra, whose search for her father leads her to find herself trapped in a web of sinister characters who use violence, lies and evil in which Petra manages to open a path of redemption.
She is as frighteningly sinister as she is sincere and honest , with no hidden cards, and you have to see her bare-chested. Highly recommended.
The best Spanish movies to watch on Netflix
The Netflix distributor puts very interesting titles at your fingertips. Discover here the most attractive proposals for adventures, drama and comedy.
17. Sarah’s Notebook
Belen Rueda shines again with her own light in a suspenseful adventure film set in the Congo jungle. The result of the portrait of the African continent is somewhat superficial, halfway, but in return it offers entertaining action scenes and a very remarkable artistic work, starting with the photography.
The story is engaging, and the script is well crafted: after years of searching for her lost sister in the Congolese jungle while working for an NGO, Laura discovers a clue that will lead her on one last, risky and exciting attempt to get her back .
We must highlight the hard work of production and the courage of the director in a field that is not always easy and pleasant, and very exposed to criticism. Highly recommended.
18. The laws of thermodynamics
If what you are looking for is a risky and different proposal that is far from the usual movies, Mateo Gil’s comedy-romance is your movie, and you have it accessible on Netflix. There is no doubt that this is one of the most interesting proposals in Spanish cinema this year.
One of its great proposals is a young, fresh and high-level cast of emerging actors, among which the quartet formed by Vicky Luengo, Chino Darin, Berta Vazquez and Vito Sanz stands out, along with other giants such as Josep Maria Pou.
The plot itself is presented as innovative and far-fetched: an up-and-coming and somewhat neurotic physicist tries to prove that his relationship with a model has failed due to the laws of thermodynamics. Despite some slips during the film, the staging manages to show that success can be achieved in other ways . Test it.
19. Sunday’s illness
The hand of director Ramon Salazar is essential for the dramatic intention to prevail in this complex story of a daughter abandoned by her mother at the age of eight who returns three decades later to ask her mother to spend ten days together.
Although the viewer is moved by the illusion of the mother for this opportunity to recover her daughter, the crux of the film is to unravel the true intentions of the young woman . The director manages to give a stagnant story a dizzying pace that is put in the stomach without dramatic excesses. An artistic proposal that you cannot miss.
Furthermore, he allows us to discover two actresses in a permanent duel : Barbara Lennie and Susi Sanchez. You can see the movie through the Netflix distributor.
20. Thi Mai, heading to Vietnam
Although it is not very original beyond the exoticism of its location and accumulates all the cliches of Spanish humor in recent years, it is no less true thatTaken as a mere entertainment movie, it reaches your heart.
There are no shortage of hilarious moments thanks to the performances of Carmen Machi and Dani Rovira, although it is also fair to highlight the enormous role played by the secondary : Adriana Ozores and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon.
A correct comedy film that, however, is more solid in the melodramatic phases that the main story contains: the trip to Vietnam of a mother who has just lost her daughter (Carmen Machi) to get custody of her granddaughter from adoption.
- You can also read: The 20 best Mexican movies in history.
All the news and news about cinema and series of the moment, you will find them in this link.
All the news and news about cinema and series of the moment, you will find them in this link.