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 | Food As Sex Metaphor

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
Genaro Aguirre	...	Rosalio
David Ostrosky	...	Juan de la Garza
Brígida Alexander	...	Tía Mary
Amado Ramírez	...	Padre de Pedro
Arcelia Ramírez	...	Bisnieta
Socorro Rodríguez	...	Amiga de Paquita
Rafael García Zuazua	...	Padrino
Rafael García Zuazua Jr.	...	Alex de niño (as Rafael Garcia Z Jr.)
Edurne Ballesteros	...	Tita de adolescente
Melisa Mares	...	Rosaura de niña
Gabriela Canudas	...	Rosaura de adolescente
Natalia De la Fuente	...	Gertrudis de niña
Beatriz Elías	...	Gertrudis de adolescente
Rodolfo Mejía	...	Venerable maestro
Ricardo M. Kaplan	...	Primer vigilante (as Ricardo Mendoza)
Jaime R. Rodríguez	...	Maestro masón
Osvaldo Martínez	...	Maestro masón
Javier Mares	...	Maestro masón
Miguel Mares	...	Maestro masón
Jorge Vizales	...	Maestro masón
Orquesta De R. Lombra	...	Musicians
Artemio Cruz	...	Juan Alejandrez's Assistant
Simon	...	Pulque
Chester	...	Tequila
Melisa Nickliff	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Mary Beth Awyer	...	Guest at John Brown's House
David McKinney	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Ryan Manti	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Bo Hatch	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Alfredo P. De Tejada	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Gabriela P. De Tejada	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Stacey Ashabranner	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Teresa Ross	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Susana Garcia C.	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Billy Jagnes	...	Guest at John Brown's House
K. Wickliff	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Fune Kohlman	...	Guest at John Brown's House
Hayde J. Rodriguez	...	Soldier
Maria H. Pineda	...	Soldier
Estela Lopez R.	...	Soldier
Lorena Villarreal	...	Soldier
Indira Sánchez	...	Soldier (as Indira Sanchez)
Sonia Ruiz	...	Soldier
Maria R. Flores	...	Soldier
Lizet Martinez	...	Soldier
Victor M. Gomez	...	Government Troop
Jose F. Lopez	...	Government Troop
Roberto Díaz	...	Government Troop (as Roberto Diaz)
Juan A. Ramos	...	Government Troop
Jaime J. Maartinez	...	Government Troop
Teodoro Bastida	...	Revolutionary
Jesus Aguilar	...	Revolutionary
Max Geturino	...	Revolutionary
Angel Sierra	...	Revolutionary
Francisco Romero	...	Revolutionary
Luis A. Muñoz	...	Revolutionary
José Miguel García	...	Revolutionary (as Jose M. Garcia)
Mario Vasquez	...	Revolutionary
Jose A. Hernandez	...	Revolutionary
Rogelio Cornejo	...	Revolutionary
Juan Murillo	...	Revolutionary

Directed by
Alfonso Arau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Laura Esquivel		novel
Laura Esquivel		screenplay

Produced by
Alfonso Arau	....	producer
Emilia Arau	....	line producer
Óscar Castillo	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Leo Brouwer

Cinematography by
Steven Bernstein
Emmanuel Lubezki

Film Editing by
Carlos Bolado
Francisco Chiu

Production Design by
Marco Antonio Arteaga
Emilio Mendoza
Denise Pizzini

Art Direction by
Ricardo M. Kaplan

Costume Design by
Carlos Brown

Makeup Department
Sergio Espinoza	....	makeup artist
Lucero Esquivias	....	hair stylist
Aurora Sánchez	....	hair stylist
Julian Tejeda	....	hair stylist supervisor
Julian Tejeda	....	makeup supervisor
Robert Villafuerte	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Belinda Uriegas	....	production manager
Robert Warmflash	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Óscar Guarín	....	first assistant director
Manuel Hinojosa	....	first assistant director
Maureen Jimenez	....	second assistant director
Mariana Sánchez	....	second assistant director
Jorge Ramírez Suárez	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
David Ascencio	....	assistant art director
Mauricio De Aguinaco	....	assistant art director
Jesús Flores	....	carpenter
Alejandro Santillan	....	carpenter
Lisa Lopez	....	buyer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alejandro Baez	....	boom operator
Juan Castro	....	sound
Aurelio López	....	sound editor
Juan Carlos Prieto	....	sound engineer
Marco Welsh	....	sound engineer (as Marco Welch)
Felipe Zavala	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Eduardo Castañeda	....	special effects assistant
Carlos Falomir	....	special effects assistant
Raul Falomir	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Francisco Rodríguez	....	optical effects
Manuel Sáinz	....	optical effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrique Gutierrez	....	still photographer
Pablo Herrero	....	assistant camera
Igor Jadue-Lillo	....	focus puller
Roz Naylor	....	focus puller
Israel Orozco	....	assistant camera
Héctor Ortega	....	focus puller: second unit
Claudio Rocha	....	director of photography: second unit
Moisés Salazar	....	grip
Mariana Sánchez de Antuñano	....	assistant camera (as Mariana Sanchez)
Arturo Velasquez	....	assistant camera
Jaime Reynoso	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Víctor Balderas	....	costume assistant
Maria Ines Garibay	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Alejandro Chilpa	....	assistant editor
Francisco Chiu Jr.	....	assistant editor
Eduardo Soto-Falcón	....	assistant editor
Greg Spence	....	post-production executive

Music Department
Annette Fradera	....	composer: period music

Other crew
Jenny Ayala	....	production coordinator
Humberto Domínguez	....	production assistant
Leticia Espinosa	....	production secretary
Carlos Gallardo	....	production assistant
Alfonso Granados	....	location manager
Laura Pesce	....	continuity
Yossy Salazar	....	delegate: ANDA
Rafael Santamaría	....	production assistant
Pierre Tatarka	....	production assistant

Thanks
Ilann Girard	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Arau Films Internacional
• Aviacsa
• Cinevista
• Fonatur
• Fondo de Fomento a la Calidad Cinematográfica
• Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE)
• Secretaria de Turismo

Distributors

• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Editora Europa (Brazil) (DVD)
• Miramax Films (1993) (USA) (subtitled)
• Top Tape (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• CTT  equipment

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:

Pedro: I'm a man of few, but firm, words.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gray Matters (2006/I)

Unpredictable and romantic

The two things that stood out for me in this film are the telling of this story and how you had no idea what was going to happen next and of course the performance of Lumi Cavazos. Its one of those rare experiences that stay with you long after you have seen the film. Both strong and self assured. Whats really amazing is that its Cavazos first film role (That I know of, anyway) her natural charm is essential to this story. Not a film for all taste's but a very unique movie overflowing with romantic grandeur.