Spanish-language movies may be hard to come by at the suburban mall cineplexes, but if you watch the schedules you may be able to find such films at art houses and at specialty theaters in larger cities. Spanish-language films shown in English-speaking countries nearly always are subtitled, so lack of language ability need not be an obstacle. (An exception is the low-budget Mexican movies and the like shown in some parts of the United States with a large Spanish-speaking population.)
In the United States, the Spanish-language movie selections at videostores frequently are dominated by low-budget movies heavy on sex and violence. In actuality, Spanish-language cinema is much broader. Spain in particular has a respectable film industry, as does Argentina to a lesser extent.
There aren't many Internet sites in English where you can keep up specifically on the latest in Spanish-language cinema. One site that focuses on international and independent films is About's own site, which includes a list of foreign films currently playing in the United States.
To keep up with news about Spanish-language movies, you'll be best off exercising your Spanish-language reading skills. Here are some of the best sites for cinema news:
- CHC: Como hacer Cine: film news, festival news, and a variety of articles about the industry
- CineNgaños: edited in Barcelona and Mexico City, it is "the only movie column where we critics aren't embittered"
- TodocineTV.com: a site aimed at professionals in and lovers of cinema, theater, music and television
- cineMAgazine: news, reviews, trailers and celebrity gossip, plus schedules and tickets for theaters in Spain.
- Cinenet: statistics, news, rankings, and a little bit of everything
- CNN en Español: entertainment news, much of it translated from English
- Zinema.com: colorful presentation of news about popular movies
- Cine Adeptos.com: web portal devoted to movies
- Buscacine: search engine devoted to movies
