Argentina’s cinematic voice is bold, poetic, and politically sharp — shaped by decades of history, class struggle, and a flair for the absurd. It is a cinema that doesn’t shy away from difficult truths or moral complexity. Whether you’re diving into a psychological slow-burn or a darkly comic thriller, Argentina movies never play it safe. They push the boundaries of narrative structure, confront political trauma with honesty, and offer profound insights into human nature. From art-house gems to mainstream thrillers, Argentina’s film industry has consistently produced compelling cinema that captivates audiences far beyond Latin America. They challenge you, mesmerize you, and linger long after the credits roll.
Below is a curated selection of the top 25 Argentina movies — starting from #1 — showcasing the country’s most brilliant contributions to global cinema. This is your gateway into one of the richest and most emotionally resonant national cinemas in the world.
🎨 25 Best Argentina Movies You Should Watch Right Now
🎞️ 1. The Secret in Their Eyes / El secreto de sus ojos (2009)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago
- Director: Juan José Campanella
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
- IMDb Rating: 8.2
- Runtime: 129 min
A former criminal investigator becomes obsessed with a decades-old rape and murder case, intertwining justice with a long-silenced love story. As he revisits the unsolved crime through a novel he is writing, long-buried emotions and moral conflicts resurface. Elegant, suspenseful, and emotionally complex, this Oscar-winning film stands as the crown jewel of modern Argentina movies, offering not just a gripping mystery, but also a poignant meditation on memory and regret.
🎞️ 2. Wild Tales / Relatos salvajes (2014)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Érica Rivas, Leonardo Sbaraglia
- Director: Damián Szifron
- Genre: Anthology, Dark Comedy, Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 8.1
- Runtime: 122 min
Six standalone stories explode with anger, absurdity, and revenge — from wedding chaos to road rage to airplane disasters. Each segment captures a uniquely Argentine flavor of frustration and justice, driven by characters pushed beyond their limits. “Wild Tales” is riotous and razor-sharp, capturing the madness of modern life with ironic brilliance. One of the most electrifying Argentina movies of the 21st century, it offers humor and horror in equal measure, exploring how quickly civilization unravels.
🎞️ 3. Nine Queens / Nueve reinas (2000)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice
- Director: Fabián Bielinsky
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.9
- Runtime: 114 min
Two small-time con artists stumble upon a rare chance to scam a collector with a forged stamp set. But in the con game, trust is always an illusion. What starts as a quick hustle turns into a web of betrayals and shifting alliances. Sleek, smart, and full of twists, Nine Queens reinvigorated Argentina’s cinema after the economic crisis and became a blueprint for modern Latin American thrillers. Its tight plotting and moral ambiguity keep viewers guessing until the final frame.
🎞️ 4. The Official Story / La historia oficial (1985)
- Starring: Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe
- Director: Luis Puenzo
- Genre: Historical Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
- Runtime: 112 min
A wealthy teacher begins to suspect her adopted daughter may be the child of one of the thousands of desaparecidos — the disappeared victims of Argentina’s military regime. As she uncovers the horrifying truth, her own privileged reality begins to crumble. This emotionally wrenching film became the first Argentina movie to win an Academy Award. Its raw emotional power, combined with Aleandro’s remarkable performance, opened the world’s eyes to Argentina’s traumatic history.
🎞️ 5. The Clan / El Clan (2015)
- Starring: Guillermo Francella, Peter Lanzani, Lili Popovich
- Director: Pablo Trapero
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 110 min
Set in post-dictatorship Argentina, The Clan unveils the shocking true story of the Puccio family, who committed kidnappings and murders while maintaining a façade of suburban respectability. The film contrasts chilling domestic calm with the brutality of their crimes. Francella delivers a disturbingly controlled performance, turning the father figure into a monster of manipulation. It’s a chilling blend of true crime and social critique, showing how systemic violence seeps into everyday life.
🎞️ 6. Carancho (2010)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Martina Gusman
- Director: Pablo Trapero
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
- IMDb Rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 107 min
In the murky world of accident scams and ambulance chasers, a corrupt lawyer and an overworked paramedic fall into a tragic love story. Their bond develops amid a backdrop of fraudulent claims, police corruption, and crumbling institutions. Carancho paints a gritty portrait of urban decay and desperation, with powerhouse performances and tight direction. The film dives deep into Argentina’s broken healthcare and legal systems, crafting a noir-like romance set in a city where hope is constantly at odds with survival.
🎞️ 7. The Headless Woman / La mujer sin cabeza (2008)
- Starring: María Onetto
- Director: Lucrecia Martel
- Genre: Psychological Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 87 min
After a mysterious car accident, a middle-class woman becomes unmoored from reality. Was it a dog or a child she hit? Her privileged life seems to carry on, but inside, she is collapsing. As guilt and denial blur together, Martel delivers a haunting allegory about Argentina’s collective amnesia after dictatorship. The film’s disorienting visual style and subdued tension create a claustrophobic atmosphere, making it an unforgettable study of repression, class, and emotional detachment.
🎞️ 8. The Aura / El aura (2005)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Dolores Fonzi
- Director: Fabián Bielinsky
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.9
- Runtime: 134 min
A taxidermist with epilepsy dreams of committing the perfect crime. When fate delivers him a real chance, his calm demeanor hides a storm of psychological complexity. Caught in a real criminal scheme, he struggles to stay one step ahead despite his seizures. Minimalist, cerebral, and atmospheric, The Aura is a cult gem of Argentina movies, blending noir aesthetics with philosophical undertones. It’s a meditation on control, fate, and the fragility of human perception.
🎞️ 9. Zama (2017)
- Starring: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas
- Director: Lucrecia Martel
- Genre: Historical Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 115 min
A Spanish officer languishes in limbo awaiting transfer from a remote colony. Slowly consumed by isolation and madness, Zama becomes a surreal fever dream of colonialism and powerlessness. The film’s lush visuals and fractured narrative immerse viewers in the oppressive absurdity of bureaucratic life. An arthouse triumph from one of Argentina’s most singular directors, it challenges conventions of time, identity, and cinematic form, making it as hypnotic as it is thought-provoking.
🎞️ 10. The Holy Girl / La niña santa (2004)
- Starring: María Alche, Mercedes Morán
- Director: Lucrecia Martel
- Genre: Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 106 min
A teenage girl believes she has a divine mission after a sexual incident with an older man. Set in a crumbling hotel during a medical conference, the film explores the collision of spiritual awakening and bodily awareness. Martel masterfully blends puberty, mysticism, and repression into a sensory experience that’s as eerie as it is poetic — a defining film of New Argentine Cinema. The narrative ambiguity and rich sound design make it a haunting portrait of adolescence teetering on the edge of faith and trauma.
🎞️ 11. Chronicle of an Escape / Crónica de una fuga (2006)
- Starring: Rodrigo de la Serna, Pablo Echarri
- Director: Adrián Caetano
- Genre: Historical Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 102 min
Based on a terrifying true story from Argentina’s Dirty War, this intense thriller follows a young goalkeeper abducted by a paramilitary group and imprisoned in a clandestine detention center. He is held without charges and subjected to psychological torture. The film vividly reconstructs the claustrophobic and disorienting experience of life inside a secret prison, building relentless tension as the protagonist plans his daring escape. With minimalistic settings and raw performances, Chronicle of an Escape is a harrowing and deeply immersive window into state terror.
🎞️ 12. Kamchatka (2002)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Cecilia Roth
- Director: Marcelo Piñeyro
- Genre: Drama, War
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
- Runtime: 105 min
Set during the early years of the Argentine dictatorship, Kamchatka follows a family in hiding through the eyes of a young boy. While his parents grapple with the terror of impending discovery, the boy retreats into his imagination, drawing strength from superheroes and board games. The film captures the resilience of childhood innocence in the face of political oppression, showing how ordinary families bore the weight of extraordinary circumstances. Darín and Roth deliver powerful performances in this poignant and emotionally layered narrative.
🎞️ 13. XXY (2007)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli, Inés Efron
- Director: Lucía Puenzo
- Genre: Drama, Coming-of-Age
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 86 min
XXY tells the moving story of Alex, an intersex teenager living in isolation with their family by the sea. As puberty brings difficult decisions and social pressure mounts, Alex’s identity becomes the center of both internal and external conflict. Rather than sensationalizing the subject, the film explores gender with compassion, nuance, and honesty. A sensitive portrayal of the complexities of adolescence, XXY is a landmark of Argentine queer cinema and a touching exploration of autonomy and acceptance.
🎞️ 14. The Man Next Door / El hombre de al lado (2009)
- Starring: Rafael Spregelburd, Daniel Aráoz
- Director: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
- Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy
- IMDb Rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 103 min
A simple construction dispute between neighbors turns into an allegory of class tension and cultural clash. When a working-class man cuts a hole into the shared wall for a window, it disturbs the tranquil, curated world of an upper-middle-class designer living in a Le Corbusier house. The narrative slowly unravels into a psychological tug-of-war, filled with tension and passive aggression. With minimal action and maximum unease, The Man Next Door is a sharply observed study of privilege and territoriality.
🎞️ 15. The Lighthouse / El faro (1998)
- Starring: Ingrid Rubio, Jimena Barón
- Director: Eduardo Mignogna
- Genre: Drama, Family
- IMDb Rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 115 min
After losing their mother, two orphaned sisters are sent to live with a distant and emotionally distant relative in a windswept coastal village. As they adjust to their new surroundings and process their grief, a deep bond forms, anchored by the majestic lighthouse that dominates the landscape. The Lighthouse is a beautifully shot meditation on resilience, sisterhood, and emotional survival, filled with haunting imagery and subtle performances. It explores how broken families can find healing in unexpected places.
🎞️ 16. Chinese Take-Away / Un cuento chino (2011)
- Starring: Ricardo Darín, Ignacio Huang
- Director: Sebastián Borensztein
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 93 min
In this charming and bittersweet comedy, a gruff hardware store owner named Roberto finds his rigid solitude interrupted when he takes in a Chinese immigrant who speaks no Spanish. Through a series of hilarious misunderstandings and emotional revelations, the two men slowly form an unlikely friendship. Chinese Take-Away is a quiet film with a big heart, exploring themes of loss, cross-cultural empathy, and the absurdity of fate. Darín shines in a role that balances comedy with quiet vulnerability.
🎞️ 17. A King and His Movie / La película del rey (1986)
- Starring: Julio Chávez, Ulises Dumont
- Director: Carlos Sorín
- Genre: Drama, Satire
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 105 min
This metafilm follows a director obsessively trying to make a historical epic about a French king who dreamed of founding a utopia in Patagonia. Beset by endless setbacks — from cast mutinies to financial ruin — he descends into absurdity, mirroring his fictional hero’s folly. A King and His Movie is a playful and tragic reflection on artistic ambition and the madness of filmmaking. It’s a cult favorite among cinephiles for its layered satire and creative self-reflexivity.
🎞️ 18. Bolivia (2001)
- Starring: Freddy Flores, Rosa Sánchez
- Director: Adrián Caetano
- Genre: Drama, Social Realism
- IMDb Rating: 7.3
- Runtime: 75 min
Shot in stark black and white, Bolivia follows Freddy, a Bolivian immigrant working as a cook in a run-down Buenos Aires café. Constantly reminded that he’s an outsider, Freddy faces daily discrimination and exploitation. The film exposes xenophobia and class divide with quiet intensity, using non-professional actors and tight framing to immerse viewers in Freddy’s world. It’s a gritty and powerful slice of social realism that speaks volumes in its brief runtime.
🎞️ 19. Cautiva (2003)
- Starring: Bárbara Lombardo, Susana Campos
- Director: Gastón Biraben
- Genre: Drama, Historical Mystery
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 115 min
Cristina, a Catholic schoolgirl in Buenos Aires, discovers that her real identity was erased by the regime during the dictatorship. Her entire life comes into question as she searches for her biological family and tries to understand her stolen past. Cautiva explores themes of identity, trauma, and institutional betrayal through a gripping, emotional lens. It’s a slow-burning detective story with high emotional stakes, rooted in real historical injustices.
🎞️ 20. In Her Absence / En ausencia de mí (2019)
- Starring: Documentary (Narrated by Julio Chávez)
- Director: Melina Terribili
- Genre: Documentary, Political
- IMDb Rating: 7.3
- Runtime: 98 min
This poetic documentary follows the exile and legacy of Argentine folk legend Mercedes Sosa, whose voice became a symbol of resistance during the dictatorship. Through rare archival footage and intimate narration, the film traces how her art and activism challenged power, gave voice to the voiceless, and inspired generations. In Her Absence is a moving tribute not just to a singular artist, but to the enduring power of music to carry memory, protest, and national healing.
🎞️ 21. The Swamp / La Ciénaga (2001)
- Starring: Mercedes Morán, Graciela Borges
- Director: Lucrecia Martel
- Genre: Drama, Psychological
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 103 min
Set in a decaying summer home during a sweltering heatwave, The Swamp dissects the malaise of Argentina’s bourgeois class. Two dysfunctional families, paralyzed by heat, classism, and alcoholism, descend into passive conflict. Martel’s camera floats like humidity through this stagnant world, capturing haunting images of spoiled fruit, idle children, and repressed anger. The film launched Martel’s career and redefined the possibilities of Argentine storytelling.
🎞️ 22. Lion’s Den / Leonera (2008)
- Starring: Martina Gusmán, Rodrigo Santoro
- Director: Pablo Trapero
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- IMDb Rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 113 min
A pregnant college student is sent to prison after being accused of killing her boyfriend. As she navigates incarceration while raising a child, Lion’s Den portrays life inside a prison nursery with compassion and realism. Martina Gusmán gives a gripping performance in this raw and humanizing tale of guilt, motherhood, and institutional judgment. A standout in Argentine prison cinema.
🎞️ 23. The Dog / El Perro (2004)
- Starring: Juan Villegas, Walter Donado
- Director: Carlos Sorín
- Genre: Drama, Road Movie
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 97 min
When a down-on-his-luck knife salesman helps a stranded motorist and is gifted a champion Dogo Argentino, his luck begins to turn. Or does it? The Dog is a minimalist road movie infused with deadpan humor, quiet melancholy, and understated optimism. Sorín’s touch is delicate, creating an intimate portrait of dignity in the margins of society.
🎞️ 24. The Invisible Eye / La mirada invisible (2010)
- Starring: Julieta Zylberberg, Osmar Núñez
- Director: Diego Lerman
- Genre: Drama, Political
- IMDb Rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 97 min
Set during the final years of Argentina’s dictatorship, this film follows a young assistant at a prestigious high school who becomes obsessed with surveillance and control. As she monitors students and staff with increasing intensity, the film mirrors the broader atmosphere of paranoia and repression in society. A chilling and symbolic film about complicity and control.
🎞️ 25. Blessed by Fire / Iluminados por el fuego (2005)
- Starring: Gastón Pauls, Pablo Ribba
- Director: Tristán Bauer
- Genre: War, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 100 min
This powerful anti-war film revisits the traumatic memories of a Malvinas/Falklands War veteran after a friend’s suicide. Told in flashbacks, the film exposes the brutality, senselessness, and neglect faced by young soldiers conscripted into war. Blessed by Fire offers an unflinching portrayal of Argentina’s forgotten war and the lasting scars it left behind.
🎬 Conclusion: Why Argentina Movies Matter
The impact of Argentina movies on international cinema cannot be overstated. These films are not just stories — they are reflections of a country’s soul, its turbulent history, and its ongoing fight for truth, justice, and identity. Whether rooted in the trauma of dictatorship or the chaos of modern urban life, Argentina’s filmmakers have crafted works of searing intelligence and unforgettable beauty.
From the Oscar-winning brilliance of The Secret in Their Eyes to the poetic power of Zama and the dark humor of Wild Tales, the best Argentina movies leave viewers emotionally shaken and intellectually enriched. These films offer universal themes wrapped in local color, making them essential viewing for any true cinephile.
If you’re looking to explore more Latin American cinema, platforms like Cinema Tropical provide great resources, news, and reviews. Don’t stop at just one — dive deep and let Argentina’s cinematic magic transform your understanding of what film can be.
