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

When Tita receives the roses from Pedro for being the ranch's cook for one year, they are light pink/coral. When she's preparing to make quails with rose petal sauce, the roses are red.

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Quotes

Doctor John Brown: My aunt is as deaf as a post.
Tita: Then how can she carry on conversations?
Doctor John Brown: She reads lips, but when she is eating, she is too preoccupied to notice anything else. Watch.
[shouts]
Doctor John Brown: Tia Mary, I'm marrying Tita because the poor girl is crazy.
[Tia Mary continues eating.]

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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 Cine Terapia: Cine Terapia - Juan Carlos Maneglia (2017)

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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

An Unusual Tale

I liked "Like Water for Chocolate" because I enjoy off beat stories, and this certainly is one!

It was crazy, but fun! I doubt that many will like it because of the sub-titles, but I did not find them a hinderance to the story.

If you are getting tired of Hollywood's "same old-same old" you will like this one!

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