Spanish movies

[baires83]

I start teaching HS Spanish in September. Anyone know of any movies for a HS Spanish class that won't bore the kids and myself to death? I'm looking to show these movies before breaks (instead of starting a new chapter which they'll forget in their week off) or after midterms. Any suggestions?

for the lower levels try something silly like "spanglish" my high school kids loved it...
there is a movie called "blue diner" that's also great...
check them out!

[baires83]

thanks for the info!

there is a series called Destinos and it is for spanish comprehensive learning! It is like an ACTUAL soap-opera and all the kids love it! They all ask " when are we going to watch Destinos again?" I highly recommend it to any Spanish teacher!

There is an Argentinian movie called Valentin which is fabulous. Most of my students liked it. I have also seen Pan's Labrynth and think the students would enjoy it. A good one about festivals in Spain is called Fiestas Primaveras.

Hard to find, but El Cid with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren will be WORTH IT! It's about 3 hours, so it will take more than one class/block. If you start with a bit of historical background so they know why he's the national hero of Spain. Explain how the movie isn't exactly the same as history, but poetic license is involved. This is justifiable in your lesson plans. My APC won't approve Disney movies in Spanish unless I can explain WHAT VOCABULARY it is reinforcing! I mean, to ME, listening to Spanish is just as justifiable as reinforcing vocabulary!
You can find it from a private seller at Amazon.com. I got mine from Video Rarities and they even made me a free back-up CD!
$89.95 + $2.98shipping New
Seller: video_rarities
Rating:98% positive over the past 12 months (122 ratings.) 164 lifetime ratings.
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Comments: THIS IS IT, the "El Cid" DVD you've been looking for! This is *NOT* one of the cheap Chinese or Korean bootlegs that have rightfully received numerous warning reviews of bad video quality. The rare and sought-after Sonneberg digital remastering, long out of print. Far better than the disappointing Miramax remastering done by Martin Scorsese for the old Pioneer LaserDisc format, which have appeared in bootleg DVD's and also have received warning reviews. BRAND-NEW AND FACTORY SEALED, in perfect, pristine condition. Beautiful video quality and awesome, rich sound, with English soundtrack and presented in its original widescreen Cinerama format. This DVD will not be re-released in the U.S. due to protracted rights issues. We have a VERY limited stock we were able to import from Germany, and when these are gone, they're gone! Will play in all U.S. players, and you may order with complete confidence as your satisfaction is guaranteed. Same-day, immediate shipping! ( « less )
Comments: THIS IS IT, the "El Cid" DVD you've been looking for! This is *NOT* one of the cheap Chinese or Korean bootlegs tha... ( » more )

Usen de todas maneras "el laberinto del fauno" es una pelicula fácil de entender debido a su lenguaje formal (la época). Además, es bastante entretenida lo cual puede ser beneficioso por el interés que pueden mostrar los estudiantes. Todos sabemos lo importante que es crear interés a la hora de enseñar.

I'm an english teacher but also latin...

Greetings from Chile

I'd never use "Pan's Labyrinth" because its extreme violence and grim atmosphere. There are at least 3 executions point blank in the movie (the pair of farmers, the girl, and the murderous captain, at the very end). Although the topic seems to be for young teenagers, I found it overwhelmingly crude and violent, I don't find any reason to expose teenagers to such crude images.
On the other hand, Valentin is beautiful and poetic. I could recommend 2 very good: "Luna de Avellaneda", from the director Campanella, and "Nine queens". I also teach Spanish HS, and Nine queens is a smart, fun, and quite entertaining movie. I also use a telenovela titled "El cuarto misterioso", the kids love it. You'll find that the acting is so bad and lame that is really hilarious. If you want to bring some social issues, you may want to check "La Toma", documentary filmed in Argentina by the Canadian producers Naomi Klein and Avi Levin (or Lewis).
Hope this helps.

Probablemente no sea recomendable para estudiantes de nivel básico pero para quienes tengan una edad mucho más avanzada, quienes puedan diferenciar la realidad y la fantasía, sea interesante. La ficción existe.

Solia ser instructor de Espa;ol en College. Y algo que utilizaba en algunas ocasiones eran peliculas que los estudiantes conocian y que podia cambiar el audio (al espa;ol) y subtitulos en ingles, si eran necesarios. Era divertido ver peliculas como Sherk, que aunque no educativas. Tenian demasiados "slangs" y aspectos culturales.
Saludos