Looking for Portuguese movies on Netflix? Don’t miss out on these!
Netflix has an amazing selection of movies from all over the world, including both their original productions and movies they offer through licensing.
Can you learn a language through Netflix?
Absolutely! Netflix is a great tool to improve your language skills!
Benefits of watching Portuguese movies on Netflix
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Pause and replay
Portuguese spoken by native speakers can often be very fast, and even at an advanced level of Portuguese, you’ll often miss things. Of course, when talking to a native speaker you don’t want to stop during a conversation and ask them what everything means, and you can only ask someone to repeat themselves so many times.
One of the best things about watching Portuguese movies on Netflix is being able to pause when you don’t understand something.
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Idioms and colloquialisms
Unlike language textbooks, movies are made by native speakers for native speakers. This means the language they use isn’t something you’ll usually come across unless you live in the country.
Idioms and colloquialisms are often translated in the subtitles, so if you are watching something with subtitles in a language you know well, it’s an easy way to find Portuguese equivalents for commonly used idioms.
If you aren’t using subtitles in a language you know, I suggest using Portuguese subtitles. This way you will not only hear the idioms but also see them spelled out.
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Language immersion
If you aren’t living in a Portuguese-speaking country, watching movies is a really easy way to create an immersive environment. This helps you improve your listening skills, reading skills (if you are using subtitles), and will generally help you get a better feel for the language.
This is why watching Portuguese movies on Netflix is one of your best options. Netflix offers a wide variety of language options, including subtitles. If you are interested in finding out all the different ways Netflix allows you to find content in your target language, read this post we’ve written on this blog.
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Chrome Extensions
Okay, so there are all general benefits of watching movies, but what makes watching Portuguese movies on Netflix so good?
Well, one of the benefits of Netflix being online is that you watch it through a browser, which allows developers to create extensions that can help you learn a language more efficiently.
Some of my favorite are Language Learning through Netflix, which allows you to add double subtitles to the content you are watching, select the type of translation as well as pause and add words to a study list.
Another great one is Super Netflix, which allows you to add custom subtitles to anything you are watching, in case you aren’t able to find the right ones through Netflix.
How can you learn Portuguese with Netflix?
While learning a language through Netflix sounds pretty ideal, there are strategies that will help you, and strategies that won’t. Here are some of my favorite strategies, and when/why you should use them.
Let’s assume you speak English, and you want to learn Portuguese. This is just used as an example to make the strategies clearer, but these techniques work and apply to every language available.
1. English content with Portuguese subtitles
Level – Beginner/Intermediate
Why – Because you already understand English, so there is no need for subtitles. By adding them in Portuguese you are getting exposed to the language while listening to a language you already know.
I find this incredibly helpful in the beginning. If you already know a few words, you can quickly pick them out and figure out more words through context.
Don’t be afraid to pause every once in a while, study a sentence, look up words you are unsure about.
You can also write down sentences you think might be helpful. For example, if people use certain expressions and they are translated into Portuguese.
The best part about this is that even when it’s hard to find content in Portuguese, you can apply this strategy to constantly improve your skills or be exposed to Portuguese.
2. Portuguese content with English subtitles
Level – Beginner
Why – To get used to the sounds of Portuguese while still understanding what’s going on.
I think language exposure is a very underrated tool to help you become fluent in a new language. You don’t have to understand everything, but it helps you develop a feeling for intonation, pronunciation, and rhythm.
When I was younger I spent the same amount of hours a week studying German, French, and English. Only one of those stuck, and it’s because I had had so much exposure. English was everywhere, even when I was small. I couldn’t understand a thing, but when I did start learning it, it felt a lot more familiar than for example French, a language I would mostly hear in class during a listening exercise.
That being said, I would only recommend this if you are too much of a beginner to add subtitles in Portuguese. If you are still not at a point where you can read subtitles that are 100% in Portuguese, consider doing both.
3. Portuguese language content with Portuguese subtitles
Level – Intermediate (Advanced)
Why – To connect speech to what is written
Hearing Portuguese while also seeing it written on-screen really helps to connect speech to written words. I personally also feel it helps me remember things better, as I am not just hearing or reading it, but doing both at the same time.
This might be one of my favorite things, and it’s a strategy I still apply daily.
I am currently a C1 speaker of English, and I still find new words, new expressions. Better yet – when I was younger I used to watch things without subtitles. Great for my pronunciation, not so great for my spelling.
I learned loads of new words, but I had no idea how to spell them, and we all know English spelling is notoriously unreliable. When I started watching content in English I found myself constantly seeing words I was already using, that were spelled completely different than what I had imagined.
Plus, and this might be a bit of a personal thing, but I find that the more I speak the more phonetic my spelling gets. While I am perfectly aware of the difference between “you’re” and “your”, after a week of mostly speaking English without writing or reading it, I am much more likely to misspell it or to overlook the mistake.
By keeping subtitles on English, even when I am not actively studying it anymore, I find that I keep up my reading brain and am a better speller when it is time to write something.
4. Portuguese without subtitles
Level – Intermediate / Advanced
Why – To practice your listening skills.
If you are interested in practicing your listening skills, this is an amazing way to do so.
It might also benefit your pronunciation, as you are not focusing on how things are written, but purely on how it is pronounced. This means that if native speakers skip letters or are pronouncing certain letters differently than usual, you won’t be distracted by the spelling.
Why are “thought”, “though”, and “tough” all spelled nearly the same but pronounced differently? It doesn’t matter if you are only focussing on how they sound, and it’ll be easier to distinguish them in the future.
In the case of Portuguese, it might help you distinguish between different accents.
That being said, as I’ve mentioned before, I think adding subtitles, in general, is a great tool to focus on both listening and reading, and I still use it as a tool to stay on top of my spelling.
5. Prewatch and rewatch
Level – Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
Why – To know what is going on while watching something in Portuguese
One of the biggest risks of watching something in a foreign language is that you might not be able to understand everything, and therefore you might not follow the plot, or miss something important.
That, however, isn’t an issue when you already know what is going to happen.
When learning a foreign language, I love rewatching classic movies or even rereading books. Because I already know what is happening, it is much easier to fill in gaps and words you don’t understand.
Ideal for this type of rewatching, in my opinion, is things along the lines of Harry Potter and animated movies.
I myself am not a big fan of dubbed movies, which is why I generally prefer animated movies.
That being said, if there is a particular movie that is a classic in Portuguese, you could simply watch it twice – once with subtitles in English, and once either without subtitles or with subtitles in Portuguese.
This way you know what is going on, so you won’t miss important clues, but you can still practice your language skills.
What if these movies aren’t available in my country?
Netflix has some restrictions related to its licensing. This means that a certain movie might be property of a different channel in your country, and can therefore not be displayed in your country.
When Netflix was still expanding, they would even sell the license of their own shows to local tv channels, which meant they would be shown on tv. This meant that when they did start streaming in those countries, they sometimes weren’t even able to show their own content like “Orange Is The New Black” or “House of Cards” because the licensing for the local tv channel hadn’t run out yet.
Long story short – not everything is available everywhere.
But don’t worry.
Want to find out which content is available where? Check out this catalogue. You can select the language of content you are interested in, and browse per country.
1. City of God
IMDB Score: 8.6
Runtime: 2h9m
“Set in a lawless slum in Rio de Janeiro, “City of God” tells the story of Rocket, an aspiring photographer looking for his big break so he can leave the treacherous area once and for all.
The movie chronicles Rocket’s life as a young boy as he deals with his law-bending brother and his gang, all the way to his teen years as a pseudo hippie. As the crime level soars in brutality, Rocket begins to realize his niche as a photographer is his only means of staying honest. With a psychopathic thug named “Lil Ze” looking to take over the slum, Rocket’s career will take him on his most dangerous task of all.”
2. Elite Squad
“In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged. Captain Nascimento is trying to find a man to replace him because his wife is pregnant and he intends to quit the command and become a trainer of the new recruits.
Meanwhile, the two idealistic friends Neto and Matias join the Military Police force expecting to become honest policemen and fight the criminals. However, they see only corruption, lack of competence and stupid bureaucracy in the Military Police, and after a serious incident in the Morro da Babilônia, they decide to join the BOPE.
The lives of Capitain Nascimento, Neto, and Matias are entwined along the next months, first in the tough training period and then in action against drug dealers. Nascimento believes that Neto could be his substitute, but his impulsive attitudes jeopardizes his choice. Later, the intelligent Matias seems to be the correct choice, but he needs to prove that he has heart.”
3. The Way He Looks
“Leonardo is a blind teenager dealing with an overprotective mother while trying to live a more independent life. To the disappointment of his best friend, Giovana, he plans to go on an exchange program abroad. When Gabriel, a new student in town, arrives at their classroom, new feelings blossom in Leonardo making him question his plans.”
4. Nothing To Lose
“Self-financed fictional biopic of Brazilian bishop Edir Macedo, founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and owner of Record TV network.”
5. Carandiru
IMDB Score: 7.6
“Brazilian MD Drauzio Varella starts AIDS prevention in Brazil’s largest prison, Carandiru, in São Paulo, where the population is nearly double its 4,000 maximum. Doc learns from experience and mainly stories the tragic stories of hideous crimes that landed scum there and passionate dramas adding otherwise decent people. Just when he believes to leave the prisoners happy with a soccer tournament, a silly clothing line argument kick-starts a politically opportune revolt repression.”
6. Confessions of a Brazilian Call Girl
“Raquel is a girl, adopted by an upper-middle-class couple, Celeste and Otto who also has a grown son, Rodrigo. But she rebelled at 17 and left her family and her college in São Paulo to become a call girl. Shortly after starting work, she decided to write a blog about her experiences. Since some clients thought she looked like a surfer she adopted the name “Surfistinha” which means little surfer girl.
This blog became a sensation, and quickly became one of the most popular blogs in Brazil. Becoming famous, her life changed significantly. She went on to be interviewed on Brazilian talk shows similar to Oprah and David Letterman, all the while continuing her blog about her racy exploits. She wrote a book about these experiences: “O Doce Veneno Do Escorpião”.”
7. Man From The Future
“In Rio de Janeiro, scientist and physics professor João “Zero” Henrique is doing research an alternative source of power. His wealthy friend has sponsored his research and his best friend Otávio’s helped him. Zero’s been bitter and frustrated since he was humiliated in public by his sweetheart Helena. One day, Zero decides to test his time machine and he accidentally travels to 22 November 1991, the day which changed his life with the embarrassment in public.”
8. Stronger Than The World
“The Story of longtime UFC Featherweight champion and the struggles facing him on the road to the top.”
9. Nise – Heart of Madness
“A miracle happened in Brazil in the 1950s. Renowned modern art museums opened their doors to artists nobody ever heard of. Many critics pointed out that these exhibitions revealed painters that should be ranked amongst the best Brazillian artists of the century. It was written that this explosion of art and beauty was a sign that something comparable to the renaissance was happening in Rio de Janeiro.
Behind this miracle, there was no art academy, patron or dealer, only a psychiatrist, ridiculed by her colleagues, and a painting studio at a mental hospital, in the outskirts of town. The artists were schizophrenic, poor, hospitalized for several decades, abandoned by their families and hopeless according to their doctors. This film tells the story of this “Miracle” and the life of this rebellious, frail and engaging psychiatrist: Dra. Nise da Silveira.”
10. Meu Passado Me Condena
“The immature and cheap douche bag Fábio Clóvis marries the pseudo-intellectual Miá and they travel in a cruise to Europe on board of a fancy passenger vessel. Fabio and Miá are invited to have dinner with the wealthy Beto Assunção and his gorgeous wife Laura in a VIP restaurant on the vessel. Soon Fábio discovers that Beto was Miá’s boyfriend and Miá learns that Fábio had a crush on Laura that was his classmate.
Meanwhile, the cynical chambermaid Suzana Mello and her estranged husband, the entertainer Wilson, make a bet that Fábio and Miá will split before the end of the trip and poison their relationship.When the ship arrives in Casablanca, Fábio meets his bothersome childhood friend Cabeça that affects their honeymoon.”
11. E Aí … Comeu?
IMDB Score: 5.8
“In Rio de Janeiro, the friends Fernando, Honório and Afonso “Fonsinho” meet every night at the Bar Harmonia to drink served by the waiter Jorge and talk about women. Fernando works in an advertisement agency and has just separated from his wife Vitória but he still hopes that she returns to him. Honório is the oldest of the trio and is married with two children with Leila but they are estranged to each other.The single Fonsinho is an untalented aspirant writer addicted to call girls and married women. When Fernando meets his seventeen-year-old neighbor Gabi, the teenager has a crush on him but he is afraid to have sex with the underage “Lolita”. Honório believes that he is a cuckold and decides to follow Leila that goes out every night to meet her friends. Fonsinho is a regular client of Alana and falls in love with the call girl. In the end, the best solution is to make love, and not war with women.”
12. Operações Especiais
“A group of honest police is sent to a country town to solve the problem of high crime. Soon they solve the problem while newcomer Francis (Cléo Pires) must overcome their limits to prove that it has value. They are acclaimed by public opinion. But before long the application of the force of the law begins to annoy everyone and the true enemy is revealed.
Is our society is prepared for an honest cop?”
13. Father’s Chair
“On the weekend of his 15th birthday, Pedro takes a trip but doesn’t come back. His father Doctor Theo Gadelha, 35 sets out to find him and bring him home. His son’s sudden and unexplainable disappearance is the last card to fall as Theos castle in the air crumbles to the ground. His marriage of fifteen years with Branca, a doctor like himself has already taken its toll. Theo heads out in pursuit of his son but winds up finding his own father, with whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Face to face with him at last, he sees himself in his father’s eyes, rediscovers his son and reconciles with the woman he has never really stopped loving.”
14. Buddies
“Colegas (Buddies) is a road movie that shows the simple things in life in a poetic light through the eyes of three young people with Down syndrome, who love movies and work at the video library of the institution where they have always lived in. One day, inspired by the movie “Thelma & Louise”, they decide to run away using the gardener’s old car to have a freedom experience.
They travel to uncommon places in search of three simple wishes: Stalone wants to see the sea, Aninha looks for a husband and Marcio needs to fly. During this search, they embark on several adventures as if life was just child’s play.”
15. City of God: 10 Years Later
“A film documentary about the fate of the young actors of the award-winning film City of God by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund. It shows how their lives unfolded after the film’s worldwide success.”
16. Laerte-Se
17. Back And Forth
“Four call center agents embark on a road trip through São Paulo’s south coast together and end up crossing paths with a man who is taking his child to meet his estranged mother along the way.”
18. Chatô, O Rei do Brasil
“The film tells the facts of life of the mogul of communications, Assis Chateaubriand (Marco Ricca), one of those responsible for bringing TV to Brazil. The screenplay based on the homonymous work of Fernando Morais.
“Chatô” brings a romanticized version of the life of Assis Chateaubriand, founder of the Associated Journals (Diarios Associados), the largest network of radio stations and newspapers in Latin America. The life of Chateaubriand is analyzed from a stroke, which makes dream about old times and facts.
The film went into production in 1995 and was interrupted in 1999 by problems with the rendering of accounts with Director of the Brazilian government, on suspicion of misuse of government funds for the cinema and culture. The film was completed in 2015. It was to be one of the greatest films ever produced in Brazil, taking advantage of the phase of resumption of film productions in the country.”
19. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures
“In 1942, the lonely German Johann travels through the arid roads in the country of the Northeast of Brazil in his truck selling aspirins in small villages, using advertisement movies to promote the medicine. He meets the drifter Ranulpho, who intends to go to Rio de Janeiro seeking a better life and gives a ride to the man. While traveling together, they develop a close friendship, but on 31 August 1942, Brazil declares war to Germany and Johann has to decide if he should return to his home country and fight in the war, or stay in Brazil in a concentration camp, but the option of moving to Amazonas with the migrants of the drought seems to be feasible.”
20. A Estrada 47
“During World War II, looking up the Mountain, in Italy, a Brazilian Expeditionary Force – FEB – mines weeping platoon is hit by a panic-attack that sets them running aimlessly right in the middle of ‘no man’s land’. Desperate cold and hungry, the ill-prepared soldiers have to choose between facing military court or delve deeper into enemy lines.
After a tense discussion, they decide to save their faces with the Brazilian Army by tackling a daring military objective: to disarm the most feared minefield in Italy. On their way there, they end meeting two others deserters; a remorseful Italian soldier trying to join the Partigianos and German officer who is just simply tired of war. with the unexpected help of their ex-enemy, the soldiers are set to accomplish a mission that so far had been deemed impossible.”
How do I find more content in Portuguese?
Looking for even more Portuguese-language content? Don’t worry.
There are many ways to find foreign language content on Netflix
You don’t just have to limit yourself to original Portuguese-language content. In fact, there are many ways to access foreign language content on Netflix that can help you improve your language skills.
Here are a few of my favorites.
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Original content
Let’s face it, nothing beats a movie in its original language. I have met Germans who dared to say that sometimes the German voice-over was better than the original and that you ‘really don’t see’ that the mouths move in a completely different way than they should, but they are either lying or delusional.
When learning a language try to find as much original content as you can find. Luckily, there is an easy way to do so on Netflix.
When going to the little search box in the corner, simply search for ‘*blank* language’.
For example, ‘German language’, or ‘Arabic language’.
This will give you an overview of all the content available in that language.
Not only that, Netflix lets you specify what kind of content you want. You could look specifically for “German-language documentary” or “Portuguese language action movie”.
Note: you really need to specify the language part. When simply looking up “German movies”, Netflix might also be looking at production which means they could also be offering some movies that are made by Germans but not necessarily in German.
Some languages might have more options than others, but this is the fastest way of finding out what original language content Netflix has to offer.
This is probably the easiest way to find Portuguese movies on Netflix.
2. Audio in …
If you have already gone through all of the original language stuff, you might be tempted to simply change the audio in original English content. I am personally not a big fan of material with voice overs, but some people swear by it. The nice thing about this option is that it expands your possible pool of movies and series greatly.
Most original Netflix content offers audio and subtitles in different languages, but if you want to simplify the process, even more, you can simply search for “Audio in Portuguese” and let Netflix do the rest.
This will load all of the titles that are available with different audio than the original. Generally, these are Netflix originals that are shared worldwide and therefore have different audio sets available, which they have all conveniently uploaded for us language learners (Thank you Netflix! We see you!)
Once you have selected a show you can change the audio to the language you want to learn. You can then always change the subtitles to English, to make sure you understand everything, or you can leave the audio in English and only change the subtitles to the language you are learning (which is also greatly beneficial to your language learning process).
3. Subtitles in
Similarly to the search shown above, you can also search for “Subtitles in Portuguese” and be presented with the subtitles that are available in different languages.
Please note that even though the search may be the same, the results may differ a lot, mostly in the sense that there will be many more options when it comes to the availability of subtitles in foreign languages.
When selecting your new show you simply change the language of subtitles, and voila.
This is actually one of my favorite language learning strategies. As mentioned before, I am not a big fan of voice-overs, so I always watch movies in their original language. A lot of the things I watch are in English, which is a language I already understand, so I change the subtitles to a language I am still learning
4. Change the language
If you still haven’t found your language because it’s unavailable, or it simply doesn’t show up among the options, you can also try by changing the language of your Netflix profile.
You can go to the top right-hand corner and select the option “MANAGE PROFILES”
From there, you simply select your own profile and change the language.
Under languages, you should be able to select your language of choice, provided it is one of the available options.
Click “SAVE” and refresh your page if necessary.
From now on, the menus, options and maybe even titles of series will be in the selected language.
If all is well, subtitles should still be available in your native language, or the language your account was created in, but it should also have the additional option of your recently selected language.
It doesn’t work for all shows. If the show you are interested in watching isn’t available in the language of your choice, you might find these subtitles don’t even exist, so it won’t show them.
For most shows that are available in multiple languages, and especially Netflix originals, you will have the new option of adding subtitles in Portuguese.
With these little tricks, you should be able to find even more Portuguese movies on Netflix.