There's a growing tendency in recent Spanish-language feature films for the boundaries of national cinema to become more and more unclear. Partly out of economic necessity, partly out of multinational interests, it is not uncommon for films like the recent Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries) to reach the ever-more globalized silver screen, bringing together talent and funding from across the Americas and Europe. Too recent to be included in this Best of the Backlist for videos, Diariosshows how the film industries in Spanish-speaking countries have restructured their channels of support, relying less and less on state financing, thereby creating a new cinematic space for stories and ideas. For the most part, the major players in this so-called boom or new wave of Spanish-language cinema are, not surprisingly, the countries with the most developed film industries—Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. Available through such distributors as Facets and the Latin American Video Archives (LAVA), the films we list are grouped into a few generic categories, arranged by type while at the same time calling attention to the problems of such classification by genre—Road Trips, Social Realism, Thriller/Suspense, and Tragic Love. As different as they are similar, these new films often engage the Spanish-speaking world's most marketable actors—Diego Luna, Cecilia Roth, Ricardo Darín, Maribel Verdú, Paz Vega, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Javier Bardem—no matter what the country of origin. The films share a standard of excellence and impart an understanding of the cultures in which they have been realized; they will captivate the interest of Spanish-speaking and non–Spanish-speaking video fans for years to come.

Sin dejar huella. (Without a Trace) color. 109 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2000. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $14.98; VHS. $9.98.

The most recent film by Mexican feminist writer and director María Novaro (Danzón) is about two women who have little in common except the need to flee. At a dingy truckstop, Aurelia (Tiare Scanda), a factory worker and mother of two from Ciudad Juárez, and Marilú (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), a sophisticated Spanish con artist, team up to elude their various male pursuers. Though ridden with as many plot holes as there are potholes on the back roads they travel, the film narrates—with the help of Serguei Saldívar's gorgeous cinematography—an honest and novel female perspective on contemporary Mexico.

Y tu mamá también. (And Your Mother, Too) color. 105 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment. 2001. DVD dist. by Facets Video. $14.98; VHS dist. by LAVA. $89.95.

Director Alonso Cuarón may have more credits to his name in Hollywood than he does in his native Mexico, but after making this film, no one forgot his name on either side of the border. This multileveled masterpiece is a sexually explicit Mexican road movie about liberation and the pleasure of life itself. It's also a lyrical social critique of Third World inequalities. Starring Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdú, it was nominated for best original screenplay for the 2003 Academy Awards.

Taxi para tres. (A Cab for Three) b&w. 89 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Maverick Latino. 2001. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $24.98; VHS. $24.98.

Feature and documentary filmmaker Orlando Lübbert brings to the screen a tragic comedy about a poor cabdriver named Ulises (Alejandro Trejo) who is carjacked by two fast-talking crooks who force him to become an accessory in a series of robberies. Reminiscent of early Fellini films such as La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, this is a compassionate depiction of Chile's underclass. Winner of the Concha de Oro at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2001.

Amores perros. (Love's a Bitch) color. 153 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Lions Gate Home Entertainment. 2000. dist. by LAVA. DVD. $49.95; VHS. $99.95.

Alejandro González Iñárritu's directorial debut weaves together three separate stories, all involving dogs, through one horrific car accident. It's an emotionally charged and visceral portrait of the tiered existence in Latin American megalopolises such as Mexico City. Gael García Bernal's stellar acting in this raw art house success helped to catapult his international career. Nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film in 2001.

Kamchatka.color. 103 min. Spanish with English subtitiles. Argentina: Argentine Video Home. 2002. dist. by Latbook/Librería García Cambeiro (www.libronet-usa.com). DVD. $39.

Directed by Marcelo Piñeyro, who also produced the widely acclaimed La historia oficial (The Official Story) in 1985, this film is set in Argentina immediately following the 1976 military coup. It follows one family's struggle for survival during the dark political period now known as the "dirty war," in which thousands of innocent Argentines were abducted and murdered by the military government. Brilliantly focusing around, but never directly, on the imminent atrocities, the film instead depicts the love shared by the family, played by Cecilia Roth, Ricardo Darín, and two stupendous child actors—Matías del Pozo and Milton de la Canal.

Los lunes al sol. (Mondays in the Sun) color. 114 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Lions Gate Home Entertainment. 2002. dist. by Facets Video. VHS. $45.

Starring one of Spain's most talented actors, Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls), Fernando León de Aranoa's film thoughtfully examines the present condition of Spain's working class. Centering on the lives of six middle-aged shipyard workers who have been laid off in a town in northern Spain, it was awarded best film at the 2002 San Sebastian Film Festival, seized four Goyas, and was Spain's nominee for best foreign-language Oscar.

María, llena eres de gracia. (Maria Full of Grace) color. 101 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: HBO Home Video. 2003. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $27.95; VHS. $25.

This powerful directorial debut by California-raised Joshua Marston is a striking example of the borderlessness of recent Latin American films. One of the first Spanish-language movies produced by HBO Films, it was shot in Ecuador, Colombia, and New York City with a mostly nonprofessional cast of Colombians. It recounts the story of a poor 17-year-old named María (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who, desperate to leave her family and a dead-end factory job stripping thorns from roses in a rural Colombian village, becomes a heroin runner, or mule. The film retains a certain documentary authenticity while at the same time providing an uplifting story of self-empowerment. Sandino Moreno won best actress at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004, and the film took the dramatic audience award at Sundance the same year.

Vengo. (I Come) color. 89 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Home Vision Entertainment. 2000. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $29.95; VHS. $29.95.

Written with Spanish co-writer David Trueba, this film by French-Algerian director Tony Gatlif—credited with such other award-winning films as Gadjo Dilo and LatchDrom—recounts a blood feud among Gypsy immigrants in rural Andalucía. The star performers are not necessarily the leading men—Caco (Antonio Casales) and his mentally handicapped brother, Diego (Orestes Villasán Rodríguez)—but the impassioned flamenco music that dominates the film as a central character. Includes performances by Romany musical legends such as La Caita, Tomatito, Ahmad al Tuni, and La Paquera.

El crimen del Padre Amaro. (The Crime of Padre Amaro) color. 119 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2002. dist. by LAVA. DVD. $49.95; VHS. $110.

Adapted from José María Eça de Queiroz's 19th-century Portuguese novel, acclaimed Mexican director Carlos Carrera (La mujer de Benjamín, La vida conyugal) reworks the classic story of a young priest (Gael García Bernal) who falls in love with a teenage girl (Ana Claudia Talancón) into a modern cultural satire. Despite some hostile demonstrations and an attempt by the Catholic Church to ban it in Mexico, the film became the country's biggest box office hit and marked a significant turning point for uncensored filmmaking in post-PRI Mexico.

Hable con ella. (Talk to Her) color. 114 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2002. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $26.95; VHS. $107.

Written and directed by Spain's most beloved filmmaker, Pedro Almodóvar's talent crescendos with this tragic love comedy about the bizarre friendship between two men who meet in a hospital while caring for their female counterparts. It's a compassionate story filled with kinky plot twists and spectacular performances by Javier Cámara (Benigno), Darío Grandinetti (Marco), Leonor Watling (Alicia), and Rosario Flores (Lydia). Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for best original screenplay.

Plata quemada. (Burnt Money) color. 125 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Strand Releasing Home Video. 2001. DVD dist. by Facets Video. $29.99; VHS dist. by LAVA. $99.95.

Also from Argentine director Marcelo Piñeyro, this film, which was released two years before Kamchatka(see review above), is based on the true-life events surrounding the bungled armed robbery and police murders in 1965 by infamous gay lovers Ángel and Nene. Superb acting by Leonardo Sbaraglia (Intacto) and Eduardo Noriega (Abre los ojos) brought much critical praise for this film, both at home and abroad.

Intacto. (Intact) color. 109 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Studio Home Entertainment: Lions Gate Home Entertainment. 2001. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $24.99; VHS. $52.90.

Spain's Juan Carlos Fresnadillo moves into the thriller genre in this highly original film—and for which he took home the Goya for best director in 2002—to delve into knotty and fascinating philosophical questions about luck, fate, and existence. The story unfolds when a thief named Tomás (Leonardo Sbaraglia), the sole survivor of a plane crash, is reluctantly recruited by an underground high-stakes gambling ring led by Samuel (Max von Sydow).

Lucía Lucía.color. 108 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2003. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $29.98; VHS. $112.56.

This Spanish-Mexican coproduction—an adaptation of Rosa Montero's best-selling novel La hija del caníbal—stars Argentina's Cecilia Roth as Lucía, a children's author who narrates a dreamy tale that begins with the mysterious kidnapping of her husband in a Mexico City airport. Through Antonio Serrano's fine direction, Xavier Pérez Grobet's swirling cinematography, and Roth's radiant portrayal, this film emerges as an unexpected gem of recent Mexican filmmaking.

Nueve reinas. (Nine Queens) color. 115 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2002. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $29.95; VHS. $59.95.

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Fabián Bielinsky, this clever plot follows two con artists—Juan (Gastón Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darín)—who conspire in a big heist that takes them on an intriguing tour through pre-political– and pre-economic–collapse Buenos Aires. This film won best actor (Darín), best director, and best original screenplay at the 2001 Argentine Film Critics Association awards.

Lucía y el sexo. (Sex and Lucía) color. 128 min. Spanish with English subtitles. U.S.: Palm Pictures: Lions Gate Home Entertainment. 2001. dist. by Facets Video. DVD. $24.95; VHS. $49.99.

Written and directed by Basque filmmaker Julio Medem, this audacious Spanish film clinched two Goyas in 2002. Set both in Madrid and on the sensuous Mediterranean island of Formentera, the film follows the reveries of Lucía, played by Paz Vega, as she investigates the death of her lover Lorenzo. Executed in an illogically beautiful Buñuelian style, the film achieves a highly original, erotic, and subliminal delicacy to be reflected upon long after the last credit has rolled across the screen.