There's a really good moment in Cry Macho that uses sign language. It isn’t even a full scene, just a quick, pleasant exchange. I bring it up because I kept wishing the whole movie felt like that. The two main characters speak English, but there’s still a problem with communication happening here. The actor playing Rafael, Eduardo Minett, almost made me reach for the mute button every time he spoke—except when he switched to his native Spanish. It's not really the young man’s fault; it happens to seasoned performers too. Think of Jean Gabin in Moontide, or Javier Bardem in Loving Pablo, or Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara, and Penelope Cruz in their English-speaking roles. I realize he’s portraying a Mexican boy learning English, and I know his character isn't meant to be immediately likable—he doesn’t really change or learn much until the very end. But I think that might be intentional; maybe the film is like a small piece of something larger, and Mike (Clint Eastwood) and Rafael’s conversation near the end hints at how Rafael’s story will eventually come full circle, bringing him to be as sensible—and presumably older—as his companion currently is. We learn just slightly more about what made Mike who he is than we can guess about where Rafael is going, but both men's past and future are suggested by their present circumstances; the sad part is that Rafael couldn’t avoid the bad choices ahead of him any more than Mike—whose warnings go unheeded, like Cassandra’s—can undo his own mistakes. So, in a way, what happens in the movie is like Rafael's introduction to hardship. Or maybe I'm overthinking it; perhaps my mind just needed something to do while I tried to ignore Minett and his poor English accent. Eastwood could have made Rafael as unfamiliar with English as Mike is with Spanish—or even had him refuse to speak Mike’s language until the end, surprising Mike after he earned a little bit of respect—so there might have been more communication without words.

Source on TMDB