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

When Pedro gave the roses to Tita for her 1st year anniversary as the ranch cook, it was colored peach. But when she started cooking it with the quail it was red.

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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

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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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 Moesha: Basket Case (1996)

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Soundtracks

Paso Del Norte
Written by Felipe Valdés Leal
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.