Sofia De Vera combines a heartfelt passion for cinema with over 15 years of critiquing for esteemed film publications, wielding academic credentials from the University of Southern California and New York University, to serve as your personal guide through the enchanting worlds of film and television. Her full guest bio can be found here.
Argentina is a country known for its unique and immeasurable landscapes and diverse society. Not to mention its vibrant street life, dynamic cultural legacy, and residents with a flair for the dramatic.
All of these elements have engaged storytellers for years throughout the history of cinema, and as a result, the natural wonders and idiosyncrasies have been immortalized in different international films resulting in a wonderfully complex and exquisite array of movies set in Argentian. Not that you would expect anything less from such an exquisite and complex country.
We love this because one of the reasons why we watch movies is that they offer a novel way to travel to different places while staying at home – and to determine if a destination elicits that ‘spirit of wanderlust’ in us before ever investing in a ticket there.
This is what inspired us to visit Mexico, Maine, and Denmark among many other places. Of course, there are then also those magical times you can steep out in a real-world location and feel instantly transported back inside the movie (thus the popularity of visiting Middle Earth / New Zealand or James Bond’s Skyfall) – and Argentina offer just such moments.
When it comes to Argentina, these films will have you wanting to run off to the otherwordly fourteen-colored Rainbow Mountain, dreaming of all the fun day trips from Buenos Aires, or counting the days until you can explore the iconic landmarks of Argentina for yourself.
In the following paragraphs, we dive into some of Argentina’s best cinematic pieces and why they deserve to be watched, as well as the locations featured and the reasons to visit them. From auteur pieces to Hollywood hits, we share with you a list of titles to get to know this magical country and discover these iconic locations (that you then may be able to visit on your next trip!)
Wondering where to watch? It depends on where you live in the world and which streaming services you have. We link to the streaming service we watch on in each case - be it Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, or elsewhere.
You can get one month free of Amazon Prime (or a 6-month trial for students) of Amazon Prime and also get immediate access to FREE Two Day shipping, Amazon Video, and Music. While you won't be charged for your free trial, you'll be upgraded to a paid membership plan automatically at the end of the trial period - though if you have already binged all these, you could just cancel before the trial ends.
Apple TV+ also has a one-week trial, and Hulu has a one-month trial (which can be bundled with Disney!). Another option might be using a VPN to access Netflix titles locked to other regions. Netflix is now available in more than 190 countries worldwide and each country has a different library and availability. US Netflix is (understandably) one of the best.
While we wish everything could just be in one place - for now, it seems these are the best streaming platforms to watch on.
Page Contents
- “Mars Attacks!” (1996) directed by Tim Burton
- “Assassination Tango” (2002) directed by Robert Duvall
- “Lucky Luke” (2009) directed by James Huth
- “Roma” (2004) directed by Adolfo Aristarain
- “Pampa Salvaje” (1966) directed by Hugo Fregonese
- “Apartment Zero” (1988) directed by Martin Donovan
- “Children of Men” (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón
- “There be Dragons” (2011) directed by Roland Joffé
- “The Mission” (1986) directed by Roland Joffé
- “Tetro” (2009) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- “The Fall” (2006) directed by Tarsem Singh
- “The Two Popes” (2019) directed by Fernando Meirelles
- “Happy Together” (1997) directed by Wong Kar-wai
- “South” (1988) directed by Pino Solanas
- “Highlander II: The Quickening” (1991) directed by Russell Mulcahy
- “Gerry” (2002) directed by Gus Van Sant
- “The Way of the Gaucho” (1952) directed by Jacques Tourneur
- “Seven Years in Tibet” (1997) directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
- “Evita” (1996) directed by Alan Parker
- “The Revenant” (2015) directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
“Mars Attacks!” (1996) directed by Tim Burton
The film, which plays with political correctness and recreates a tribute to the B movies of the ’50s, features Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Jim Brown, and Jack Black; and part of it was filmed in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
This classic film is a parody of other films about extraterrestrial phenomena. The plot is set in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas when a group of skull-faced Martians emerges from a glowing ship claiming to be peaceful, but without delay, they fulminate all earthlings who get in their way. Thus begins a bizarre high-tech war with wild special effects.
“Assassination Tango” (2002) directed by Robert Duvall
This personal project of the American actor honors his passion for tango in an action thriller. The film tells the story of an assassin for hire who begins to learn the traditional dance from Argentine actress Luciana Pedraza, his real-life wife. During his stay in a cheap hotel, Robert Duvall’s character discovers the idiosyncrasy of Buenos Aires through its streets, people and bars