Como agua para chocolate (1992)

Director:

Alfonso Arau

Writers:

Laura Esquivel (novel)
Laura Esquivel (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A feast for the senses!

Plot:

This movie is about how life used to be in Mexico. It is a love story between Pedro and Tita, and why...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Mexico | Marriage | Wedding | Cooking

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 21 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Marco Leonardi	...	Pedro Muzquiz
Lumi Cavazos	...	Tita
Regina Torné	...	Mamá Elena
Mario Iván Martínez	...	Doctor John Brown
Ada Carrasco	...	Nacha
Yareli Arizmendi	...	Rosaura
Claudette Maillé	...	Gertrudis
Pilar Aranda	...	Chencha
Farnesio de Bernal	...	Cura
Joaquín Garrido	...	Sargento Treviño
Rodolfo Arias	...	Juan Alejándrez
Margarita Isabel	...	Paquita Lobo
Sandra Arau	...	Esperanza Muzquiz
Andrés García Jr.	...	Alex Brown
Regino Herrera	...	Nicolás

Also Known As:

Like Water for Chocolate (International: English title)

Runtime:

105 min | Mexico:113 min (R Rated NTSC Version)

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Acuña, Coahuíla, Mexico

Company:

Arau Films Internacional

Trivia:

An aspiring filmmaker from Texas, who was not involved with the project, was able to spend time on set, because he was in town shooting a small budget ($5,000) full-length feature film for the Spanish home video market. That young filmmaker was Robert Rodriguez, and the film was El Mariachi, which would go on to become a hit at Sundance and launch his career.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At Esperanza's wedding to Alex Brown, the groom is shown opening a bottle of André Champagne, complete with plastic cork, in 1934 long before this product was available.

Quotes:

Gertrudis: Sergeant, can you cook cream fritters?
Sargento Treviño: To be honest ... no. But if you want, I will try.
Gertrudis: You have never let me down before. I hope this will not be the first time.
Sargento Treviño: Yes, my general.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Lone Gunmen: Like Water for Octane (#1.4)" (2001)

A great film representation of magical realism

I'm greatly surprised at some of the negative comments for "Like Water for Chocolate", many of which state how it utterly failed to capture the passion or the mystical tone of Laura Esquivel's book.

I suppose it's only a matter of opinion(like pretty much everything, I guess), but I thought the movie represented the book's magical realism in a great way. The filmmakers knew not to exaggerate or take everything over the top(which could've been very easy), and this gives the fantastical moments-- such as all the guests becoming ill at the wedding or the shower bursting into flame as Gertrudis bathed-- an essential grounding in reality. This fact is also buttressed by the erotic musical score and the whole cast, who fit the characters from the novel perfectly IMO.

I would recommend giving the film of "Like Water for Chocolate" a go; and trying out the book as well.