Como agua para chocolate (1992)

When tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.

Director:

Alfonso Arau

Writers:

Laura Esquivel (novel), Laura Esquivel (screenplay)

Stars:

Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 26 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In a forgotten Mexico village Tita and Pedro fall in love, but their marriage is forbidden as to traditions. Mother Elena sees Tita's role as her caretaker for life - no youngest daughter has ever married and her daughter will not be the first to break tradition. Tita's heart breaks when her mother offers Pedro her sister instead of her, and he accepted it just to live near Tita- he says. Now they live in the same house, and mother Elena cannot forbid their love as she did their marriage.

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | marriage | love | nudity | pubic hair | 

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Taglines:

A feast for the senses!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

28 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Como Água Para Chocolate

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Acuña, Coahuíla, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$21,665,500

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arau Films Internacional,Aviacsa,Cinevista

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 113 min (R Rated NTSC Version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An aspiring filmmaker from Texas, who was not involved with the project, spent 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 became a hit at Sundance and launched his career.

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Goofs

Reflected in a window during a dolly shot as Tita leaves the table while everyone eats their cake.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Born Yesterday/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III/Married to It/Like Water for Chocolate (1993)

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Soundtracks

The Quail in Rose Petal Sauce
theme comes from the Largo of Chopin's Piano Sonato No. 3

User Reviews

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.