A week or so ago, a thread popped up in a Facebook group asking for movies in Spanish with English subtitles that were appropriate for classroom settings. There were some interesting suggestions that some teachers shared. So I decided to do a little research and this is what I found.
IMPORTANT: Many of these movies are made in other countries. It is imperative that you watch the movie before showing it to your students so that you can check for any inappropriate content and take note that some trailers before the movie may also be inappropriate!! I've tried my best to only select movies that are family friendly, but I have not seen all of them.
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Atlético San Pancho
A group of kids has a dream: to play a soccer championship and to win. Their dream is going to be fulfilled by Don Pepe, an old guy with lots of expectations for his kids.
Rated: Unrated
NOTE: This movie has been highly recommended by Spanish teachers. Read the reviews on Amazon.
The Harvest/La Cosecha
Every year there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools, and homes to pick the food we all eat. Zulema, Perla and Victor labor as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA profiles these three as they journey from the scorching heat of Texas onion fields to the winter snows of the Michigan apple orchards and back south to the humidity of Florida's tomato fields to follow the harvest. From the Producers of the Academy-Award® nominated film, WAR/DANCE and Executive Producer Eva Longoria, this award-winning documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of these children who struggle to dream while working 12 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to feed America.
Rated: Unrated
Viva Cuba
In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendship between two children is threatened by their parents' differences. Malu is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito's mother, a poor socialist proud of her family's social standing, places similar restrictions on her son. What neither woman recognizes is the immense strength of the bond between Malu and Jorgito. When the children learn that Malu's mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malu's father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it.
Rated: Unrated
Which Way Home
This award-winning film and Academy Award nominee takes viewers along on freight trains with children from Mexico and Central America who are trying to get across the U.S. border and to a better life. Cammisa captures children begging for food, hopping the trains, and clinging to the tops of their dangerous rides. The film crew is so close to the action, viewers can almost feel the train lurch. While the journey itself is wrenching and suspenseful, Cammisa's best decision was to allow the travelers--adolescents without money, adult supervision, or basic human comforts--to do most of the talking. Their guileless recounting of how they came to be riding "The Beast" and what they hope for makes this an exceptional program. The risks of this activity are highlighted through the introduction of a young woman who lost her legs and a family that receives a coffin bearing the decomposed remains of a son who died on the trip. The film offers no solution but illustrates with each frame that finding one is crucial. Viewers who are moved to get involved can do so through the website www.whichwayhome.net. Bonus features include deleted scenes and English and Spanish versions of the film. Strongly recommended for children's and immigration advocacy groups and general viewers.
Rated: Unrated
Under The Same Moon (la Misma Luna)
In her feature film debut; director Patricia Riggen weaves their parallel stories into a vividly textured tapestry of yearning and devotion that portrays a child's courage and tenacity, and a mother's sacrifice. Nine-year-old Carlos aka Carlitos (Alonso) is one of the countless children left behind by parents who come to the U.S. seeking a way to provide for their families. His mother; Rosario (del Castillo) has worked illegally as a domestic in Los Angeles for four years; sending money home to her son and mother to give them a chance at a better life. When the death of his grandmother leaves young Carlitos alone; he takes his fate into his own hands and heads north across the border to find his mother. As he journeys from his rural Mexican village to the L.A. barrio; Carlitos faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles with a steely determination and unfettered optimism that earn him the grudging respect and affection of a reluctant protector; a middle-aged migrant worker named Enrique (Derbez). The unlikely pair finds its way from Tucson to East L.A., but the only clue Carlitos has to his mother's whereabouts is her description of the street corner from which she has called him each Sunday for the last four years. Unaware that Rosario is only hours away from returning to Mexico to be with her son; Carlitos and Enrique desperately comb the vast unfamiliar city for a place he has seen only in his imagination.
Rated: PG-13
A Better Life
Carlos Galindo always dreamed of a better life for his wife and newborn son when he crossed the border into the US. But when his wife left him, Carlos's only goal became to make sure his son Luis was given the opportunities he never had.
From the director of About A Boy comes a touching, multi-generational story that follows father and son as they embark on a physical and spiritual journey where they discover that family is the most important part of the American dream.
Rated: PG-13
El Estudiante
After retiring to the beautiful Mexican town of Guanajuato, a 70-year-old decides to follow his dreams and enroll at the university where he stumbles upon a new generation and they are bound together by the novel Don Quijote de la Mancha.
Rated: PG-13
The Colors of the Mountain
Young Manuel lives with his hard-working farmer parents in the remote, mountainous region of the Colombian countryside. While the adults in their lives try to avoid both the armed military and the guerrilla rebels fighting each other in the area, Manuel and his friend Julián are obsessed with playing soccer any chance they get. Shortly after his birthday, the new ball Manuel received as a gift gets kicked off to a minefield, and he, Julián and their albino friend Poca Luz will do everything in their power to recover their prized belonging an essential part of their everyday lives and dreams.
Rated: Unrated
**Note: The reviews on Amazon say this is a great movie but is very sad. Be sure to watch it yourself first to determine it if is okay for kids!