The 25 best movies set in Mexico

Three out-of-work drifters (Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt) stumble upon a hearty supply of gold in a remote area of Mexico. The trio dream of starting new lives with their newfound wealth but must keep their supply and source secret from other prospectors, avoid a murderous gang led by a man named Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya) and battle their own mounting paranoia. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” earned John Huston Oscar wins for both Best Director and Best Screenplay, as well as a Best Supporting Actor win for Walter Huston and a Best Picture nomination.

Written by, directed by and starring Orson Welles, “Touch of Evil” is a 1958 film noir that takes place on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico crossing in various border towns as police captain Hank Quinlan (Welles) and Mexican drug enforcement officer Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) investigate the mysterious detonation of a car bomb. Like most Welles films, a much longer cut exists, but the original release nevertheless earned near-universal critical praise, and to the shock of the director, two prizes at the 1958 Brussels World Film Festival. 

Boasting an all-star ensemble cast of Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz, “The Magnificent Seven” received generally positive reviews upon its release and even more acclaim with each passing year. Set in a poverty-stricken small town in Mexico, the film (based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film “Seven Samurai) is the tale of a group of gunslingers who must band together to defend their village from bandits. Audiences enjoyed the enthralling Western, and even Kurosawa considered himself an enormous fan.

Clint Eastwood’s first leading role and Sergio Leone’s first “spaghetti Western,” 1964’s “A Fistful of Dollars” is an unofficial (and unauthorized) adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's 1951 film “Yojimbo” and a certified classic. Set in the fictional Mexican town of San Miguel, “A Fistful of Dollars” is also the first of three times Eastwood would play the “Man with No Name" character, as he is also the protagonist of 1965’s “For a Few Dollars More” and 1966’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

A rancher hires four men — a weapons expert, an explosives expert, an Apache scout and a wrangler — to rescue his kidnapped wife from a Mexican bandit. Directed, produced and written by Richard Brooks (and based on the 1964 novel “A Mule for the Marquesa” by Frank O'Rourke), “The Professionals” stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance and Ralph Bellamy and earned three Oscar nominations: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner and Sam Peckinpah (who also directed) collectively shared a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for writing the 1969 Western “The Wild Bunch,” which additionally received a nod for Best Original Score. Revered for its revolutionary editing techniques but criticized for its graphic violence, the shootout-filled epic starred William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and Jamie Sánchez as outlaws on the run from a bounty hunter (Robert Ryan) and a corrupt Mexican general (Emilio Fernández).

Although most of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong’s first feature film, 1978’s “Up in Smoke,” is set in Los Angeles, the pot-smoking duo end up getting deported to Mexico along with Cheech’s relatives (who called the INS on themselves to attend a Tijuana wedding) and spend some time south of the border before unknowingly smuggling marijuana back into the states. Many critics slammed the film for its immature and crude humor, but audiences helped the box office numbers get higher than the film’s stars ($44 million, to be exact), and it has since become a cult classic in the stoner genre.

The portion of 1983’s “El Norte” that takes place in Mexico is only about one-third of the total film, but for a drama clocking in at nearly two-and-a-half hours, that’s still some substantial screen time. Directed by Gregory Nava and written by Nava and Anna Thomas, “El Norte” earned a nod for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars — the first time an independent film ever received a nomination in that category. Centering on two Guatemalan youngsters (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando) fleeing violence in their country for a better life in America, “El Norte” carved out such an important place in history that it was added to the National Film Registry in 1995.

Critics be damned. How could you not like a screwball comedy directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin and Randy Newman and starring Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short? The trio star as a silent film troupe that travels to Mexico for what they think is a TV appearance but is actually a plea from the residents of a small town being terrorized by a bandit and his gang. Despite the terrible threat facing Santo Poco, “Three Amigos” is packed with plenty of laughs, numerous cameos (including Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman) and, of course, a plethora of piñatas. 

Apologies to the two English language films in Robert Rodriguez’s “Mexico Trilogy,” but the first, 1992’s “El Mariachi,” is definitely the standout. Before Antonio Banderas took over the part, Carlos Gallardo played the titular character, a musician who mistakenly gets caught up with some criminals and drug lords. Despite a budget of less than $250,000 and numerous cost-cutting techniques, “El Mariachi” is an exciting and entertaining Mexican Western than earned a spot in the National Film Registry in 2011.

Robert Rodriguez as director? Check. A Quentin Tarantino screenplay? Check. A cast of George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek and Tarantino? Oh yeah. And did we mention it’s also about vampires? The reviews for “From Dusk till Dawn” were mixed, but fans of Rodriguez, Tarantino, and the horror and Western genres propelled this film to almost instant cult status.

If you recall, there are three storylines in the 2000 drama “Traffic,” one of which was set in Mexico and featured Benicio del Toro, Jacob Vargas and Tom Milian. As a whole, the Steven Soderbergh film was critically acclaimed and won Academy Awards for Best Director, Supporting Actor (del Toro), Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay (Stephen Gaghan), as well as a Best Picture nomination.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “21 Grams” and “Babel” received more mainstream attention, but the first film in the trilogy actually received the best reviews. “Amores Perros” connects three separate stories through a Mexico City car accident, and it earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards and the Prize of the Critic's Week at Cannes.

To simply call “Y Tu Mamá También” a road trip film would rob the drama of its powerful and emotional (not to mention erotic) qualities. Starring Diego Luna, Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal and Diana Bracho, “Y Tu Mamá También” won Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, earned a nomination in the same category at the Oscars and Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes. At the time of its 2001 release, the film set a record for the highest box office opening in the history of Mexican cinema.

In 2002 Salma Hayek took on the role of Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo for the biopic “Frida.” Although the film also starred Alfred Molina, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton and Geoffrey Rush, Hayek commanded the spotlight and ended up earning a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Kahlo. Hayek ultimately lost to Nicole Kidman in “The Hours,” but “Frida” still managed Oscar wins for Best Music and Best Makeup.

Don’t be fooled by the title. “And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself” is not a documentary, but like “Frida,” it's a biopic starring a big-name actor. Antonio Banderas portrayed Mexican revolutionary Gen. Pancho Villa in the 2003 HBO film and ended up earning an Emmy nod for Outstanding Lead Actor. The highly acclaimed bio amassed nine Emmy nods in all, including Outstanding Made for TV Movie and Outstanding Writing, and it won Outstanding Sound Editing.

How “Nacho Libre” didn’t sweep the Academy Awards still perplexes us to this day. OK, so the movie actually didn’t earn any Oscar nominations, critics didn’t know what to make of it and audiences were divided. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a funny film! After all, it starred the always entertaining Jack Black in an endearing role loosely based on the true story of Fray Tormenta, a priest who supported his Mexican orphanage by moonlighting as a luchador wrestler. Co-written and directed by Jared Hess of “Napoleon Dynamite” fame, “Nacho Libre” featured both Danny Elfman and Beck on the score, nabbed five Teen Choice Award nominations and earned nearly $100 million at the box office.

Not for the faint of heart, “Borderland” is a gory and gruesome horror flick that is inspired by the true story of Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo, nicknamed “The Godfather,” a Mexican drug lord who started a religious cult in the '80s that practiced both animal and human sacrifices. Brian Presley, Rider Strong and Sean Astin star in the dark thriller that was written and directed by Zev Berman. Although it didn’t garner much mainstream attention, “Borderland” absolutely slayed in the minds of horror fans and critics alike.

Most of the Best Picture-nominated film “Dallas Buyers Club” takes place in America, but the story deals with the importation of experimental but potentially life-saving HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals from Mexico. Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey and based on the real-life AIDS patient of the same name) also ventures across the border for the critical drugs, which he first used for himself but later set up a means to distribute them to other patients while eluding the unsupportive FDA. Jared Leto co-starred in the powerful 2013 drama and won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, as did McConaughey for Best Actor and Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Guillermo del Toro produced the animated comedy “The Book of Life,” but he’s not the only big name attached to the project. The voice cast consists of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube and Ron Perlman, as well as a whole lot of cameos. Nabbing a nomination at the Golden Globes for Best Animated Film, “The Book of Life” also nabbed $99 million at the worldwide box office.

The family drama “Güeros” earned five honors at the Ariel Awards, which is basically the country’s version of the Academy Awards. The wins were for Best Picture, Director, Sound and Cinematography, with “Güeros” also winning for cinematography at the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed and written by Alonso Ruizpalacios, the Mexico City-set film stars Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Sebastián Aguirre, Ilse Salas and Leonardo Ortizgris.

Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin star in the crime thriller “Sicario,” which was written by Taylor Sheridan (later known for “Hell or High Water” and “Wind River”). The trio play FBI agents given the mission of eliminating a powerful Mexican cartel leader, with non-stop twists that drive the story deeper into the Mexican underworld. Despite being an action movie, critics lauded “Sicario,” singling out the performances of both Blunt and del Toro. The film also earned three Oscar nominations but not in any of the major categories.

Just the second film written, directed and produced by Isaac Ezban, “The Similars” is a character-driven supernatural horror film about a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in a bus station in 1960s Mexico. Although not as serious at it might seem and occasionally even funny, “The Similars” is also quite scary at times, leaving Ezban with a well-rounded, 90-minute thriller that earned plenty of praise.

Did you know the 15th highest-grossing animated movie of all time was released just two years ago? “Coco,” the story of a 12-year-old boy who ventures into the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, earned a whopping $807 million worldwide, 11 Annie Awards and Best Animated Feature at both the Golden Globes and Oscars, as well as an additional win for Best Original Song at the latter. Featuring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Alanna Ubach and Benjamin Bratt, “Coco” was conceived of and directed by Lee Unkrich.

“Roma” didn’t receive as much attention, didn’t earn as much at the box office and didn’t have the Oscar success of “Gravity,” Alfonso Cuarón’s previous directorial effort — but it came pretty darn close. Both films were written, produced, directed and edited by Cuarón, and while “Gravity” amassed a box office haul of $723 million and won seven of its 10 Academy Award nominations (including Best Director, Cinematography, Editing and Score) and subsequently received much more mainstream attention, “Roma” made just $4.4 million and capitalized on only three of its 10 Oscar shots (Best Director, Cinematography and Foreign Film). All things considered, the semi-autobiographical tale of growing up in Mexico City is still a near masterpiece.