10 Best Uruguayan Movies of All Time
Intriguing, interesting and versatile, Uruguayan movies bring an array of various topics and genres where everyone can find something they are interested in. From comedies to dramas, this cinematography offers remarkable stories about everyday individuals who struggle to go through their lives day by day.
It is highly recommended to try and find some of the movies from this list since here we have gathered and described the 10 best Uruguayan movies of all time
Whisky (2004)
Jacobo’s private life is in the middle of nowhere and when his estranged brother suddenly reappears, he feels an obligation to prove that he is not a complete failure. His first step is to find a wife and he turns to Marta, an employee at his sock factory who is not very fond of him.
This is a movie that could have been shot literally anywhere in the world since it deals with a universal topic of sad, unfulfilled people who go through their days without specific purpose and goals. It is slow paced but never boring and it brilliantly depicts this human’s need to escape everyday situations.
25 Watts (2001)
A drama about the 24 hours in the lives of three young men in the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo. Javi, Seba and Leche are trying to survive until Sunday, surrounded by loads of youth problems, such as girls and studies. But they are not dealing with their problems, on the contrary, they are avoiding them.
Sleeping, drinking and hanging out with peculiar and unusual people is so much more interesting than trying to solve some issues and these boys are definitely making the best out of what they can find. An outstanding movie that can easily go hand in hand with some of the best achievements from South America.
El baño del papa (The Pope’s Toilet, 2007)
Melo is a poor Uruguayan village on the Brazilian border where some men earn their living from contraband, transported mostly on bikes. Beto is not so young anymore and these escapades are getting more difficult by the day. He hopes to earn a motorbike somehow and soon he comes up with an excellent idea.
He plans to build and charge for the use of the lavatory for the pope’s first visit to Uruguay ever. He will pass through Melo, probably cheered by a hoard of Brazilian believers.
Mal día para pescar (Bad Day to Go Fishing, 2009)
This interesting western drama tells the story of two men, the former strongest man on Earth and his manager. Jacob van Oppen and his manager Orsini earn nice sums of money by travelling their country and organising wrestling exhibitions. They are welcomed with enthusiasm in the village of Santa Maria where everyone is trying to help them advertise their exhibition.
There is a call for Oppen’s adversary, but Orsini already knows how to find the perfect candidate, but it turns out that there might be an even better fighter here in Santa Maria than he had hoped for.
El cuarto de Leo (Leo’s Room, 2009)
This is a bold and intriguing romantic drama about Leo, a young man who is trying to accept his sexuality. He stumbles upon Caro, one of his oldest school friends who he fancied when they were children and who is now facing his own demons.
This encounter will force Leo to deal with some of his personal problems, but another one, this time with a boy named Seba will make him question his decisions and force him to ponder on what he is going to do with his life in the future.
Anina (2013)
This animated movie is a story about a girl named Anina who doesn’t like her name and always gets picked out by her school colleagues for it, especially the baddest of them all, Yisel. One day, after a brawl at the playground, Yisel and Anina receive a weird punishment. Both of them are handed a black envelope by the school principal and they are not allowed to open it by the end of the week.
Anina will be haunted by the urge to fight out what is in the envelope and in her anxiousness to do that, she will get into many adventures that will help her understand the content of the envelope, but more importantly, the world around her and her role in it.
La demora (The Delay, 2012)
This is a heartbreaking drama about a middle-aged single mother of three who takes care of her eighty years old father. Her father is gravely sick, falling deep into dementia and Maria is giving her best to provide for her children, but also showing support to her father.
Since her salary is not nearly enough for all the expenses she needs to cover, she turns to the authorities to give her assistance for her father, but unfortunately is provided with a negative answer. Completely desperate, Maria will have to make a decision that might ruin her family forever.
Mr. Kaplan (2014)
Jacob Kaplan fled Europe during World War II and found refuge in Uruguay where he built a calm and quiet life for himself. But now, after he’s lived his life to the fullest, he is starting to question his own purpose. He heard of a mysterious man hiding on the nearby beach and is convinced that it case of a hidden Nazi.
He decides to expose him, thus making his life more meaningful and giving it this so long awaited purpose. He plans an operation that will certainly work out well, but as it usually happens in life, nothing goes as planned and the complications awaiting Jacob soon result in a series of funny and unforgettable situations.
La vida util (A Useful Life, 2010)
This beautiful movie brings back memories of some cinematographic masterpieces such as Cinema Paradiso and The Purple Rose of Cairo. It is the story of a movie-theatre employee who needs to find a new job and purpose in his work life after the cinema he worked at for 25 years is about to close.
This movie is a nostalgic homage to the golden cinema years when people used to camp in front of them to get the ticket for the most anticipated cinematographic achievements. It gives us hope that cinema is maybe still a great way of spending time and a way of life for some people and that it will be difficult to completely forget what it used to be in the past.
Gigante (Giant, 2009)
Jara works a night shift where he monitors security cameras at a supermarket. He is a 30-years old lonely man who has no friends and spends his days watching TV and listening to heavy metal. One night he notices the clean lady Julia on the security camera, but soon starts following her during the day, on her way to the market, cinema or the beach.
Always hiding, Jara never finds enough courage to talk to her and his opportunity to try and take her out might become even more difficult when one day he witnesses her encountering a man. Will he finally be able to go past his insecurities and try and get the girl?
