What We’re Watching for Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic heritage encompasses a wide range of cultures, and so do the mystery and thriller movies and TV series that we recommend checking out to honor Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15). The annual celebration, which has been nationally recognized since 1988, highlights the diversity of Latin culture in the U.S., and movies and TV are a big part of that. Here are 10 great movies and shows from the U.S. and beyond to watch during this month-long event.
The Bitter Stems
This classic 1956 film noir from Argentina was thought lost for decades, until it was rediscovered and restored in 2014. It’s since been acknowledged as one of the greatest Argentine films of all time, and it stands alongside other landmark noir movies. It’s an evocative if occasionally overwrought story about a volatile journalist who teams up with a Hungarian immigrant for a moneymaking scheme, then turns murderous when he suspects her of betrayal. The heightened plot is complemented by fantastic visuals and amusingly dark humor.
Cronicas
John Leguizamo takes on a rare dramatic leading role in this cross-border thriller about a journalist from Miami who travels to Ecuador on the trail of a serial killer. Leguizamo’s Manolo Bonilla and his producer (Leonor Watling) get involved with a man they believe has been falsely accused of the crimes, only to discover a complex cover-up. Leguizamo brings intensity and depth to his portrayal of a man torn between justice and sensationalism in pursuit of an enticing story that could make his career.
Devious Maids
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry adapted a Mexican TV show into this delightfully campy, soapy mystery series, starring Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Roselyn Sánchez and Judy Reyes as four Latina housekeepers working for wealthy families in Beverly Hills. Of course these self-centered rich people have plenty of secrets, and they often don’t realize just how much they’re revealing to the help. Over the course of four seasons, the main characters become embroiled in numerous sordid affairs, beginning with the murder of a fellow maid in the first episode.
The Lincoln Lawyer
Unlike the 2011 film adaptation starring Matthew McConaughey, the Netflix TV series based on Michael Connelly’s novels embraces its protagonist’s Mexican heritage, emphasizing his lifelong balancing act between two cultures. Mexican actor Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays lawyer Mickey Haller, who lives and works in the multicultural landscape of Los Angeles, where his background serves as an asset for dealing with a variety of clients. It’s a realistic reflection of life in Los Angeles, in a way that’s rarely depicted so clearly in mainstream TV shows.
La Llorona
Not to be confused with the American movie that was released as part of the Conjuring universe, this contemplative Guatamelan supernatural thriller interprets the myth of the vengeful title spirit as a tool for examining the legacy of a brutal dictatorship. Accused of perpetrating genocide, an ailing former military dictator is essentially trapped inside his mansion, surrounded by angry protestors. He and his family are visited by a mysterious woman who embodies the vengeance of the indigenous people he exterminated, in a haunting meditation on guilt and generational trauma.
The Mole Agent
Maite Alberti’s Oscar-nominated documentary is the kind of movie that earns the cliché “truth is stranger than fiction.” The Chilean filmmaker follows lonely senior citizen Sergio, who’s hired by a private investigator to go undercover at a nursing home to see if a client’s mother is being mistreated. Despite the potentially bleak subject matter, The Mole Agent is a sweet, heartwarming story about human connection, as Sergio is energized by his mission, taking his investigation seriously while also making friends and becoming part of a positive, welcoming community.
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Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno was nominated for an Oscar for her film debut in Joshua Marston’s thriller about a pregnant Colombian teenager who takes a dangerous job as a drug mule. The movie offers a look at the consequences of the drug trade that doesn’t moralize either for or against drugs, just telling a focused and character-based story about one girl’s dreams of making something better out of her life and what she would do to achieve them. Moreno perfectly captures that determined girl and her harrowing journey.
Satanic Hispanics
As the title implies, this horror anthology showcases Hispanic talent both behind and in front of the camera, in segments directed by filmmakers from Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and the U.S. The wraparound story stars Napoleon Dynamite’s Efren Ramirez as a man who claims that a dangerous supernatural force is coming for him as he’s being held for questioning by the police. While under interrogation, he offers up tales that constitute the movie’s other segments. Those tales range from an intensely creepy account of a portal to the afterlife, to a goofy comedy about a forgetful vampire, all steeped in Latin American culture.
The Secret in Their Eyes
This Oscar-winning film from Argentina puts a prestige cinematic gloss on a dependable police procedural, set across two time periods 25 years apart. Investigator Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darín) can’t let go of a case from early in his career, and following his retirement he decides to look into it further, reconnecting professionally and perhaps romantically with his former boss Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil). Director and co-writer Juan Jose Campanella commands the viewer’s attention as he switches between eras, balancing a twist-filled mystery, an understated romance, and an examination of Argentinean political history.
Victims of Sin
Mexican cultural icon Ninón Sevilla is mesmerizing in this mix of noir, melodrama and musical from the 1950s golden age of Mexican cinema. She plays Violeta, a fiercely proud nightclub singer and dancer who takes in an abandoned baby that’s literally been thrown in the trash. The stylish movie features vibrant dance numbers along with a stark portrayal of underworld violence, led by the brutish pimp who terrorizes Violeta for protecting the child he wanted to get rid of.
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Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He’s the former film editor of Las Vegas Weekly and the former TV comedies guide for About.com. He has written about movies, TV, and pop culture for Vulture, IndieWire, CBR, Inverse, Crooked Marquee, and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.