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Here Are 23 Of The Best Netflix Original Movies We Saw In 2018

Need reprieve from ~family time~? It's time to hit up the 'flix.

Greta Alvarez
by Greta Alvarez

BuzzFeed Staff, Español

1. Roma

Alfonso Cuarón / Netflix

This visually stunning film, shot in black and white, looks at life in Mexico City in the '70s and is directed by the award-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. The story centers on the life of a maid who works for a middle-class family in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.

Watch: You want to know what everyone in the film world's going to be talking about during Oscars season!

2. 6 balloons

Bruce Finn

The story unfolds over the course of a single night: a woman navigates Los Angeles in order to help her addict brother get hospitalized in a rehab center, all while looking after a toddler, too.

Watch if: you want to be on the edge of your seat but also think some deep thoughts at the end.

3. Cam

Netflix

This film offers a look into the world of cam girls and tells the story of Alice, a woman whose identity is stolen online.

Watch if: you're looking for a horror movie that's different and has a brilliant script.

4. To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Masha_weisberg

The premise: A teenage girl has written tell-all letters her secret crushes, but keeps them stored in a box in her room. But one day, all of those letters are mysteriously sent out — and chaos and romance alike ensue.

Watch if: you want to fall madly in love with Peter Kavinsky.

5. Cargo

Matt Nettheim

This postapocalyptic Australian thriller that takes place after a virus has turned part of the population into zombies. An infected father will have to find refuge for his one-year-old baby, but the clock is racing against him.

Watch if: you want to watch a good zombie movie.

6. Sunday's Illness

Netflix

In this Spanish movie, a mother reunites with her daughter 35 years after walking out on her. The daughter only has one request: that she spends 10 days with her in a remote location...

Watch if: you want a drama that's pretty emotional and powerful.

7. Alex Strangelove

Walter Thomson

Alex is a teenager who's getting ready to lose his virginity with his girlfriend Claire, but his life starts to get complicated when he meets Elliot, a gay kid who encourages him to explore his sexuality.

Watch if: you'd like to watch a comedy that gets what it's like to be a teen.

8. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Netflix

This film is made up of six short stories set in the Wild West and directed by the Coen brothers. If that doesn't sway you, maybe James Franco and Liam Neeson's performances will.

Watch if: you like stories that are a little ludicrous, intelligent, unconventional, or any movie by the Coens, which is basically the same thing.

9. Private Life

Jojo Whilden

This is a humorous and emotional look into the life of modern married couples. It tells the story of a couple who's trying to get pregnant when they're over 40 years old and, just as they're about to lose all hope, a young woman shows up and their lives take an unexpected twist.

Watch if: you like dramatic comedies about adult life.

10. Benji

Netflix

This reboot of a 1974 classic by the same name tells the story of a street dog who finds love from two children. Things get complicated, though, when the kids get kidnapped, and their four-legged friend has to come to the rescue.

Watch if: You love dogs, duh.

11. Set it Up

K C Bailey

Written and directed by two women — Katie Silberman and Claire Scanlon — this is a romantic comedy about two assistants who team up and hatch a plan to have their bosses meet and fall in love, so that they can have more free time.

Watch if: you're a die-hard rom-com lover.

12. Big Fish & Begonia

Netflix

This animated tale tells a story about love and sacrifice, and it follows a girl from the mystic realm who decides to turn into a dolphin on her sixteenth birthday. Things take an unexpected turn when, in the water, she meets a human who will obviously make everything more complicated.

Watch if: you like fantasy animated movies.

13. Calibre

Netflix

Two good friends go hunting into the Swedish woods, but the wonderful weekend ends up turning into a very disturbing nightmare no one could ever have prepared for.

Watch if: you like intense thrillers that show the dark side of human beings.

14. The Land of Steady Habits

Netflix

A man in his fifties decides to shake up his life and ditch his daily habits. He leaves his wife, moves out, and waits for excitement to knock on his door... until he realizes it's not happening and, instead, he'll have to work to reconcile his past life with his present.

Watch if: you're looking for a movie that portrays the occasional emptiness of ordinary life.

15. The Night Comes For Us

Eriekn Juragan

This is a gore-packed Asian action film about a hitman who decides not to kill a little girl, which motivates his bosses to go after him and try to kill him.

Watch if: you like violent movies.

16. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Netflix

It's based on a novel of the same title about a London writer who's invited to join a reading club that was started when Guernsey, an English island, was under Nazi occupation.

Watch if: you're looking for a nice love story set in the past.

17. Ibiza

Aleksandar Letic

What happens when you're sent to Barcelona for work and you take your two best friends with you? Apparently, a lot of partying, falling in love, and adventure.

Watch if: you feel like watching an entertaining rom-com.

18. The Most Assassinated Woman in the World

Netflix

Set in 1930s Paris, the main character is an actress who's had to "die" on stage in very graphic and gruesome ways. Meanwhile, a journalist decides to investigate the theater where all of these acts are taking place, since he's got a mystery to solve.

Watch if: you love French cinema.

19. 22 July

Erik Aavatsmark / Erik Aavatsmark/Netflix

It's a story based on real life events around one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Norway's history. On July 22, 2011, over 77 people lost their lives in a shooting carried out by a far-right sympathizer.

Watch if: you like docudramas and European movies.

20. Beirut

Netflix

A former diplomat is sent to a city devastated by civil war in order to negotiate an exchange for kidnapped prisoners.

Watch if: you liked Mad Men... because it stars Jon Hamm in a very James Bond-esque role.

21. Come Sunday

Netflix

Based on actual events, it follows the story of Carlton Pearson, a famous fundamentalist priest, right at the time he experiences a crisis of faith that jeopardizes the future of his church.

Watch if: you're interested in religious dramas and/or true stories.

22. First Match

Netflix

A Brooklyn teenager who's spent years living with different foster families decides to join the male wrestling team with the aim of reconnecting with her real father.

Watch if: you're looking for a serious film with some elements of teen drama.

23. I Am Not An Easy Man

Netflix

A sexist man wakes up in a world in which gender roles have reversed. It's a romantic comedy with a fine, dark humor that will have you reflecting about our society.

Watch if: you like comedy, feminism, French cinema, or all three of those things.

It's the end of 2018, and we're looking back on the year. Check out even more Best of 2018 content here!

This post was translated from Spanish.