Lali Mingo, where would I be without you? For suggestions, translations, and your Santa Monica levels of patience with my Spanish, or lack thereof.
Classics

This is the first Argentine sound film, has tango legends like Libertad Lamarque and Tita Merello, and is a time capsule of early tango culture. No subtitles, but honestly, they’re not needed. Just enjoy!

The original (the remake is below). Stars Carlos Gardel a.k.a the man, the legend, the one whose music we do not dance to ever at milongas. It also has Por Una Cabeza, and absolutely anyone who has seen Scent of a Woman (this movie isn’t on this list intentionally, there, I said it!) will recognize that song. English subtitles.
Contemporary
We project our fantasies on tango. And Argentine Tango of today (not to paraphrase the title of the movie) is very different from Argentine Tango of before. This is a wiki of tango places, tango singers, and tango culture. In Spanish, but the same deal with closed captions as above. Finally, to quote Laura Mingo, “I’ll watch it tonight to cry a little bit”. You might start noticing a little trend going forward…
French-Argentine movie, way before they knew they'd be battling each other in the 2022 Mundial final. Political and cultural identity of exiled Argentines in Paris. Anyone who has ever related to “home is where the heart is” will sob their way through this movie (maybe it’s just me). No subtitles, closed captions, translation.
A remake of the 1935 movie. Tango is an art form and a metaphor for Argentina and its political history.
Carlos Saura’s visually stunning fever dream. Honestly, a must-watch because of cinematography and choreography alone. Not joking about the “fever dream” part, though. I watched it when I started dancing tango, then again a few years later, and again a few years after that. It makes sense the more you dance and know about Argentina’s and tango’s history, but if all that makes you snooze (it really shouldn’t!) watch it for the choreography!
I really do think it’s Robert Duvall’s love letter (in a way) to Argentine Tango and Buenos Aires, but especially to tango. He’s a great dancer in his own right. Yes, really! There was a point where you could find him at quite a few milongas in BA. Also some of the best dancers in the world (!) are in this movie.
The most Anaïs-coded movie, truly. Kids play with a Ouija board (!), summon Ventarrón, and things start happening. English subtitles.
I adore this film because of the tango lyrics. Tango lyrics are the whole point. It can be very…mmm, unbelievable at times. But also, did I mention that I ADORE this movie? The trailer has English subtitles and might just seduce you.

Stage tango (tango escenario) exists because of María Nieves and Copes. It’s a beautifully made film about deeply imperfect human beings.
Not tango, but IMO one of the best movies about the dictatorship and its aftermath ever made. If you ever go to BA, visiting Espacio Memoria y Derechos Humanos, former ESMA, might be one of the hardest things you will ever do. On the same note, Perla. Cannot recommend that book highly enough!
A little tango orchestra. An insane economic crisis (one of MANY) in December of 2001. Suffering, but make it tango. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll laugh while crying.
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