10 Best Movies from Uruguay to Watch First

10 Essential Films from Uruguay

Ranked native cinema in Uruguay’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. A Twelve-Year Night

   La noche de 12 años · 2018

   Based on a true story, three captured Tupamaro guerrillas — including a future president of Uruguay — endure twelve years of solitary confinement and torture under the military dictatorship, clinging to sanity and hope. A harrowing, humane drama.

2. 

   2. Whisky

   2004

   A dour, lonely sock-factory owner, dreading the visit of his more successful brother, persuades a longtime employee to pose as his wife to keep up appearances — a small, awkward charade that stirs unexpected feeling. A deadpan, melancholy comedy.

3. 

   3. Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains

   2007

   In their own words, the survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash — members of a Uruguayan rugby team — recount their seventy-two harrowing days at high altitude, and the unthinkable choices that kept them alive. A profound documentary of survival.

4. 

   4. The Pope's Toilet

   El baño del Papa · 2007

   As a poor Uruguayan border village pins its hopes on the crowds expected for a papal visit, a struggling smuggler bets everything on building a pay toilet for the pilgrims. A bittersweet comedy-drama about dignity and dashed hopes.

5. 

   5. Anina

   2013

   A ten-year-old girl teased for her palindromic name is handed a mysterious punishment after a playground fight — a sealed envelope she is forbidden to open — and learns to look past her own small troubles. A charming Uruguayan animated film.

6. 

   6. El chevrolé

   1999

   Fresh out of prison, a musician sets out to reunite his scattered old band, the Chevrolés, tracking down former bandmates who have drifted into odd lives across Montevideo. A wry, music-laced drama.

7. 

   7. 25 Watts

   2001

   Over a single aimless day and night in Montevideo, three restless young men loiter, bicker, and drift, unsure what to do with their lives. A wry, low-key, black-and-white slacker comedy.

8. 

   8. Bad Day to Go Fishing

   2009

   A washed-up former strongman and his silver-tongued manager tour small South American towns staging wrestling exhibitions, until a stop in one Uruguayan town threatens to expose the fragile fiction propping them up. A tragicomic drama.

9. 

   9. Red Screening

   Al morir la matinée · 2020

   During the final late-night screening at a decaying Montevideo cinema in 1993, a sadistic killer begins picking off the trapped patrons one by one. A stylish, gory Uruguayan slasher.

10. 

    10. The Door Is There

    Hay una puerta ahí · 2023

    This film traces the tender, unlikely friendship between two men as one helps the other face a terminal illness, weaving humor, pain, and devotion into their conversations. A moving drama about dying with dignity.