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 & 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 | 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

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

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.

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Quotes

Bisnieta: [voiceover] When Tita felt Pedro's enduring gaze on her shoulders, she completely understood how raw dough must feel when in contact with boiling oil. The heat that she felt was so real that she feared that, just like dough, blisters would cover her body. The belly, the heart, the breasts. She looked down and tried to escape.

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Alternate Versions

Also, there was an European cut that is very similar to the international version because it was already color-corrected, but some scenes are extended. This European cut includes sex & nudity scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

Ojos de Juventud
Written by Richard Tolentino

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.

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