Best-Reviewed Spanish-Language Movies 2020

The dark side of the immigrant experience is documented in top film Identifying Features, the drama set at the Mexican border following a mother’s search for her son who has disappeared after setting out to find work in America. Features‘ close competitors run the gamut, from the neo-folk horror La Llarona, the visually striking I’m No Longer Here, mixed-media chiller The Wolf House, and even a warm comedy in the shape of The Mole Agent.

The order of the rank below reflects the Adjusted Score as of February 28, 2021. Scores might change over time.

#1
#1
Adjusted Score: 100455%
Critics Consensus: A slow-burning descent into desperation, Identifying Features uses one shattered family's ordeal to offer a harrowing look at the immigrant experience.
Synopsis: A middle-aged woman embarks on an increasingly dangerous journey to locate her son, who's gone missing after leaving Mexico to... [More]
Directed By: Fernanda Valadez

#2

La llorona (2019)
Tomatometer icon 96%

#2
Adjusted Score: 100262%
Critics Consensus: La Llorona puts a fresh spin on the familiar legend by blending the supernatural and the political to resolutely chilling effect.
Synopsis: Alma is murdered with her children during a military attack in Guatemala, but when the general who ordered the genocide... [More]
Directed By: Jayro Bustamante

#3

I'm No Longer Here (2019)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#3
Adjusted Score: 99519%
Critics Consensus: I'm No Longer Here's occasionally uneven narrative is more than offset by its honest and visually poetic approach to themes of identity and assimilation.
Synopsis: After a misunderstanding with a local cartel, a young man is forced to leave behind his family, friends and everything... [More]
Directed By: Fernando Frias

#4

The Wolf House (2018)
Tomatometer icon 96%

#4
Adjusted Score: 98177%
Critics Consensus: Surreal, unsettling, and finally haunting, The Wolf House is a stunning outpouring of creativity whose striking visuals queasily complement its disturbing story.
Synopsis: A young woman takes refuge in a strange house in the woods after escaping from a German colony in southern... [More]

#5

The Mole Agent (2020)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#5
Adjusted Score: 98949%
Critics Consensus: Warm and funny, The Mole Agent offers audiences a poignant reminder that it's never too late to forge new connections and embark on new adventures.
Synopsis: An 83-year-old man poses as a resident in a Chilean nursing home to see if he can find signs of... [More]
Directed By: Maite Alberdi