I will admit, I was surprised by how much I liked this movie. The charm of the characters, the setting, and the honorable fight make it so you can’t help but fall in love with the film. The Strategy of the Snail follows tenants of an aging Bogota mansion who are about to be kicked out by the owner. After a violent confrontation with armed forces, their lawyer realizes their best weapon is time and they begin to stall while they build a pulley system that allows them to transfer all the items in the house to a new location by the time the eviction comes. This film shows that hope can be found in even the most dire places. For this film to be set in the backdrop of a Colombia mired by the violence of the guerrilla group, FARC, it is amazing that they were able to show a peaceful way to create revolutionary change.

In no other documentary can the operatic drama of this Patricio Guzman masterpiece be matched. La Batalla de Chile is a three-part documentary detailing the events that led to the coup against Salvador Allende’s government on September 11, 1973. The first part follows the bourgeoisie’s role in his takedown, the second follows the military’s role, and the last part goes back in time to focus on the workers who fought against it all. The images of the film really stick with you from the shot of a cameraman shooting his own death to the collective resistance of many urban workers.

Brazil never looked so wild as in this film. Pixote takes you on a crazy ride through Rio and Sao Paulo that leaves you absolutely dazed. The film follows a young boy who is rounded up by the police and placed at a reformatory. While there, he faces abuse from adults and kids alike, but when his friend is murdered by one of the adults, he and his friends decide to escape before they are unjustly framed. Once out, they are confronted with violence, drug deals, and prostitution. The film takes a hard look at the Brazilian government and the harm they have done to its children at a time when the dictatorship was finally coming to an end.

Before there was Y Tu Mama Tambien, Cuaron made his debut with this charming and surprisingly hilarious movie. Solo Con Tu Pareja tells the story of Tomas Tomas, a young Don Juan character. When one of his scorned lovers decides to forge his STD test with a false HIV diagnosis, he begins to question his life. At a time when the PRI’s power in Mexico was coming to an end, Cuaron offered a pitch-perfect lampoon of the commercialization of Mexican history and culture. It also stands out as one of the first movies to tackle AIDS in a comedic way.

At the top of my list, there was only really one movie I could pick. On par with Pan’s Labyrinth, this film mixes horror with the realities of the Guatemalan Civil War so artfully that I’m surprised more people don’t know it. La Llorona tells the story of Enrique Monteverde (based on Efrain Rios Montt) who has recently been acquitted of genocide for his actions as head of state from 1982 to 1983. Protesters outside leave him and his family unable to get out of the house and a new maid with a shadowy past begins to make them face their own past and take responsibility for their actions.