Como agua para chocolate (1992)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

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 | Wedding | Mexico | Cooking | 1930s

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

Color:

Color

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:

Nacha: You will be so beautiful that the first boy who sees you will want to marry you.
Mamá Elena: Nacha! Don't say that. As my youngest daughter, Tita will care for me until the day I die. She won't marry.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gray Matters (2006/I)

A cookbook turned fairy tale

Usually when I read a book, I am disappointed by the movie; there is so much more in the written word than can be put on screen. And when I see a movie I never want to read the book afterwards. This was the first movie that I read the book after seeing the movie; Como Agua Para Chocolate is THAT good a movie! And the book is WONDERFUL! The fairy tale aspect of this movie is told subtly, but with a strong Hispanic sense of mysticism-- you have the evil (step)mother, the heroine as Virgin Mary, who has magical powers, unrequited love, the unobtainable prince, and other classic fairy tale elements. This combines with the real elements of the Mexican Revolution and old world family practices revolving around family relations, martimony, and most of all cooking. Food plays a major role in this movie, but even more so in the book. I recommend both the book and the movie.