Let’s be honest: sometimes love sucks. Not everyone is walking on air or succumbing to romance this Valentine’s Day. Some are healing from a breakup or feeling exhausted from giving their all, while others have simply decided to embark on a journey of self-love. Whatever your situation, a Mexican movie marathon is always the best refuge.
While the world bombards you with flowers and romantic dinners, here we offer you a selection of Mexican movies that reveal the fine print of the sentimental contract — ones that will undoubtedly make you appreciate your single status. If you’re spending Feb. 14 alone or with friends, today is the perfect excuse to dive into a glimpse at the other side of the coin: broken hearts, impossible dreams and, why not, a little emotional chaos and toxicity. If you’re tired of fairy tales and cloying happy endings, our selection of recommended Mexican films are perfect for your alternative Valentine’s Day.
These movies remind us that love isn’t always forever, but they leave us with the hope that the best of life is still to come. So, without further ado, here are four Mexican movies that any single person — brokenhearted or not — will enjoy.
“Elvira, te daría mi vida pero la estoy usando” (Elvira, I’d Give You My Life But I’m Using It)
This 2015 black comedy from talented director Manolo Caro (“La Casa de las Flores”) stars Cecilia Suárez and Carlos Bardem as Elvira and Gustavo, a married couple from Mexico City who appear to lead a normal life but are quietly falling apart.
Elvira is the epitome of domestic self-sacrifice; she devotes herself to her home and her two children while her husband, Gustavo, supports the family by working for an insurance company. But her world is shattered the night he goes out to buy cigarettes and doesn’t return.
Desperate, Elvira embarks on a detective-like search, fearing the worst, only to come face to face with a harsh and cruel truth: Her husband’s absence is not an accident but the collapse of a family life built on lies and infidelities.
Beyond the search for a fugitive husband, the film focuses on the reconstruction of a woman who has lived for decades in the shadow of dependence. The viewer witnesses a fascinating journey of self-discovery: the transition from an Elvira faded by routine to one who takes charge of her own destiny and learns to fend for herself. In the end, we not only attend the mourning of a lost love, but also the victory of a life regained. This is, undoubtedly, a film that will make anyone happy to be single on Valentine’s Day.
“Treintona, Soltera y Fantástica” (Thirty, Single and Fabulous)
Directed by Salvador “Chava” Cartas (“Borrón y Vida Nueva”), this adaptation of Juana Inés Dehesa’s book of the same name begins as a conventional romantic comedy, but it doesn’t take long to subvert the tropes of the genre.
“Thirty, Single and Fabulous” — the title says it all — tells the story of Inés Duarte (Bárbara Mori), just after she’s ended a relationship with no future and is about to turn 30 with no children and no engagement ring.
Through her personal journey, the film dissects the systemic pressure, family expectations and anxiety that women experience when they feel they are “missing the boat” as they enter maturity. What makes this work stimulating is its refusal to fit into the cliché, challenging the idea of singleness as supposed failure.
Not without some stumbling blocks, Inés eventually discovers that being “fantastic” means gaining the freedom to decide her own destiny, prioritizing her professional and personal autonomy over the expectations of others. This is the perfect choice if you want to forget about saccharine fairy tales and embrace the glorious chaos of simply being yourself and being in charge of your own life.
“Perfectos Desconocidos” (Perfect Strangers)
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if there were no secrets in romantic relationships, “Perfectos Desconocidos” teaches you that sometimes ignorance is the only thing that keeps people together.
Director Manolo Caro (mentioned above), revisits director Paolo Genovese’s Italian phenomenon “Perfetti Sconosciuti” and demonstrates why this story has inspired significant reimaginings, ranging from Spain to South Korea. Honoring the spirit of the original work, the Mexican version also turns an ordinary dinner into a relentless battlefield, where camaraderie surrenders to the weight of digital secrets.
The plot follows several couples who accept a seemingly harmless challenge: placing their cell phones in the center of the table under the premise of “zero secrets.” The goal is to share every message, image or call to prove they have nothing to hide.
However, this exercise in forced honesty soon turns dangerous: These life partners — who share bills, a bed and children — discover that technology has given rise to parallel worlds and that in the digital age no one knows each other as well as they think they do.
At just 101 minutes long, this film offers an uncomfortable warning: Technology has created a new form of intimacy that, ironically, excludes those closest to us. In this sense, it suggests that fidelity is not only the absence of other lovers but also the deliberate decision not to build a parallel digital ecosystem where the other person is not welcome.
“Me estás matando, Susana” (You’re Killing Me, Susana)
Based on the famous 1982 novel “Deserted Cities” by the rebellious writer José Agustín, the film tells the story of a Mexican actor who, upon waking up and discovering that his partner has left him to go to the U.S., decides to go in search of her.
In it, Gael García Bernal and Verónica Echegui bring to life Eligio and Susana, a couple whose relationship is slowly falling apart. Eligio is an actor incapable of being faithful, while Susana is a writer determined to find herself far away from him. Her escape to a literary workshop abroad forces Eligio — and his bruised ego — to step out of his comfort zone to try to rescue a relationship that seems to have slipped through his fingers.
Beneath the surface of a romantic comedy, the film by Roberto Sneider (“Arráncame la vida”), who usually directs one film per decade, examines the ambiguity of affection, the machismo ingrained in Mexican culture and those vicious cycles from which no one emerges unscathed. “Me estás matando, Susana” is an honest portrait of the pain of growing up and how, at times, romance becomes a toxic pattern from which it seems impossible to escape.
Whether you’re enjoying your single life or simply looking to escape conventional romance, these Mexican films are the perfect antidote. Get ready for a subversive and deeply liberating Valentine’s Day marathon.
Carolina Alvarado is a Venezuelan journalist and has devoted much of her career to creative writing, university teaching and social work. She has been published in Lady Science, Latina Media, Global Comment, Psiquide, Cinetopic, Get me Giddy and Reader’s Digest, among others.
