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

Stars:

Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 26 wins & 12 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 | food | male frontal nudity | marriage | love | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film became the highest-grossing foreign-language film ever released in the United States at the time.

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Goofs

When the narrator says "that night she [Tita] cried and knitted" Tita is clearly shown crocheting with one hook instead of knitting, which requires two.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

There was a theatrical Mexican cut, in which sex & nudity scenes were missing, and instead of, there were other scenes less graphical and additional voice-over narrations from the great-granddaughter (Arcelia Ramirez) that weren't included in the international version. The Mexican cut was not color-corrected, and it's noteworthy because of the very dark contrast in image. The scene in where Mamá Elena dies and Tita takes care of the funeral has a different music score in the Mexican cut. The English spoken language scenes have hard-coded Spanish subtitles, but no voices were re-dubbed.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Color of Night/Andre/Killing Zoe/A Man in Uniform/Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

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Soundtracks

Mi Carro Ford
Written by René Vázquez Lopez (as René Vázquez)
Performed by Los Morales

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

28 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Como agua para chocolate

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Acuña, Coahuíla, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,600, 21 February 1993

Gross USA:

$21,665,468

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,744,201

Company Credits

Production Co:

Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA), Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE), Secretaria de Turismo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 113 min (R Rated NTSC Version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1