Plot: A Mexican teen who collects random trinkets discovers the importance of human contact though three unusual items she discovered on the street. Imaginative Esmeralda (Bárbara Mori) keeps a box of found items under her bed, creating stories about each of them in order to make her own life more interesting. Little does Esmeralda realize that three of these items are about to change her life, as well as the lives of the lovelorn individuals to whom they once belonged. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Plot:It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco’s right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos, the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a curt but considerate headmistress named Carmen and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the doomed Republican cause. Despite their concern for him, and his gradual triumph over the usual schoolhouse bully, Carlos never feels completely comfortable in his new environment. First of all, there was that initial encounter with the orphanage’s nasty caretaker, Jacinto, who reacts even more violently when anyone is caught looking around a particular storage room the one with the deep well. Second, and more inexplicable, is the presence of a ghost, one of the former occupants of the orphanage named Santi. Not long after Carlos’ arrival, Santi latches onto Carlos, badgering him incessantly at night and gloomily intoning, “Many of you will die.” As if that wasn’t enough to keep the orphanage’s occupants in an unrelenting state of terror, there’s the un-exploded bomb that dominates the orphanage’s courtyard, still ticking away; With the orphanage left defenseless by its isolation, and the swift progression of Franco’s troops, the ghost’s prediction seems depressingly accurate. Nevertheless, with every step of the plot, it becomes apparent that the ghost’s predictions as to who (or what) will die, the real source of danger and even the definition of death itself may be more ambiguous than first thought. – plot from imdb.com

Plot: The gorgeous Margot supports her aged father by seducing men on trains, slipping them a Mickey Finn (a beso de sueño) and robbing them of money and jewelry. One night her victim is a currency smuggler taking 100 million pesetas out of Spain. He’s being watched by a cop and by a burned-out alcoholic, Salvatierra, who does occasional jobs for a corrupt banker; they are quickly on Margot’s trail. The cop suspects Salvatierra of working with Margot, but Salvatierra has his own agenda. He becomes Margot’s protector; is it for his own good or for hers as well? And what are these feelings that develop between the two of them? Where will the money end up? – plot from imdb.com

Plot: Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps. Written by Pusan International Film Festival

I signed up (and actually paid) for a couple of months on LoMasTv. LoMasTv is a site that has videos in Spanish (like telenovelas, music videos etc.) that you can watch. The player that you watch the videos on has Spanish and English captions (that you can turn on or off) and pitch-correct slow play (especially useful when you’re listening to Calle 13). While you’re listening you can add new words to a flashcard program in one-click.

There are 2 other things I think LoMasTv does really well. First, the music available is popular and crosses every genre. It’s organized by Spanish-difficulty and/or country. There is a tongue-in-cheek write-up about each song/artist. The other is that there are Spanish lessons on grammar, expressions or vocabulary that reference specific songs. Here is a lesson on the suffix -ero (it helps explain our name – lenguajero no?), that uses Choc Quib Town to reinforce the lesson. This is an awesome way to learn Spanish.

Plot: The story, set in 1999, is told in flashback form: in June 1974 a federal justice agent, Benjamín Espósito, becomes spellbound by and subsequently entangled in the investigation of the crime of a young woman, brutally raped and murdered inside her house in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood. Her widowed husband, bank employee Ricardo Morales, is shocked by the news; Espósito vows to find the killer and bring him to justice.

Why See It: Winner of the 2009 Best Foreign Film at the 82nd Oscars.

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago

Plot: Mexican director Francisco Vargas Quevedo presents the story of Don Plutarco, an elderly farmer and violinist; the aged patriarch of a musical family who has fashioned an ingenious way of smuggling ammunition beneath the noses of government troops.

Why See It: Shot simply and starkly in Black & White this mood-driven character exploration of familial love, duty, conflict and innocence is set in rural Mexico during the peasant revolts of the 1970s.

Cast: Ángel Tavira, Gerardo Taracena, Octavio Castro,

Plot: Harry Caine is a blind writer who shares his life with his agent Judit and her adult son Diego. Slowly, events in the present begin to bring back memories of the past. He hears that millionaire Ernesto Martel has died; a young film-maker, Ray X, appears and turns out to be Martel’s son, Ernesto Martel Junior. Diego is hospitalized after an accidental drug overdose in a Madrid nightclub. Harry collects Diego from the hospital and looks after him to avoid worrying his mother. Part of the main storyline is told in flashback as Harry narrates a tragic tale of fate, jealousy, abuse of power, betrayal and guilt.

Why See It: This 2009 film by Pedro Almodóvar is set in the 1990s and 2008. The film centers on a four-way tale of dangerous love, and was shot in the style of a hard-boiled 1950s American film noir.

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, Rubén Ochandiano

Plot: Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.

Why See It: A futuristic look at the problems that are facing Mexico today, and definitely one of the best Spanish language sci-fi films of all time.

Cast: Jacob Vargas, Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela

Plot: An adventure drama that tells the story of Santiago, a 22-year old from Lima. Following his father’s suicide, haunted by his inner daemons and hatred for the world in general, Santiago decides to escape the crude Lima winter to take refuge in Mancora, a beach to the north of Peru where it is always summer.

Why See It: A fun film that originally premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. Not too serious, lots of beautiful people, and, of course, beautiful Spanish.

Cast: Jason Day, Elsa Pataky

Plot: Habana Blues is a 2005 Spanish and Cuban film by Benito Zambrano, which tells the story of two young musicians in Cuba. The film revolves around their music and contains criticism of problems in Cuba such as poverty, art versus commerce, nationalism versus globalism, and communism versus capitalism.

Why See It: A rich look at the vibrant nightlife and music that make Havana’s heart beat, as well as a realistic look at the problems that Cubans face everyday.

Cast: Alberto Yoel, Roberto Sanmartín, Yailene Sierra

Plot: In Spain, the former sailor Ramón Sampedro has been quadriplegic for twenty-eight years and is fighting in court for his right of practicing euthanasia through an association that defends the freedom of choice and leaded by his friend Gené. Ramón is introduced to the lawyer that is defending his cause, Julia, who has a degenerative fatal disease; and meets Rosa, a lonely worker that has been abused by men. Their relationship changes the behavior and viewpoint of life of Rosa and Julia. Written by Claudio Carvalho

Why See It: The Sea Inside won the 2004 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the 2004 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and 14 Goya Awards including awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

Cast: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas