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Like Water for Chocolate, 1992
Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is the third daughter of the imposing matriarch Elena (Regina Torné), and as such is given no choice of a life outside of caring for her mother. When Tita falls in love with the handsome Pedro (Marco Leonardi), her mother denies Pedro's request for Tita's hand. Pedro decides that he will marry Tita's sister, Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), so that he can be close to Tita. In the ensuing emotional turmoil that follows, Tita discovers that her feelings are conveyed through her cooking, often having an effect on those around her.
I had vague memories of being shown part of this movie in high school, and have sort of wanted to revisit it ever since. For the most part it did not disappoint as a mix of fantasy and romance.
The central conceit of the film is the power of the food that Tita prepares, and how it impacts those around her in large and small ways. When Pedro brings Tita a bouquet of flowers, Tita uses them in a dish that ignites sexual passion in everyone who eats it. Her sister Gertrudis (Claudette Maillé) becomes so overheated that her body heat sets the showerhouse alight and summons a nearby revolutionary fighter. When Pedro and Rosaura wed, the wedding cake Tita prepares creates a deep longing in everyone so powerful that it proves fatal to one of the guests.
Arizmendi is an engaging lead, a woman who suffers various indignities in the name of being close to the man she loves. She chafes under the oppression of her mother's household rules, but cannot fully find it in herself to break free. In trying to play by the rules, she ends up in a situation more painful than if she'd simply tried to find happiness elsewhere, or run away with Pedro from the get-go.
Mario Iván Martínez turns in a very engaging performance as Dr. John Brown, a kind and progressive doctor who tends to the various members of Tita's family and slowly builds a romance with Tita that's constantly under threat from her lingering attraction to Pedro. Brown is, on paper, a perfect gentleman, and he's a great foil for Pedro. Torne's Elena is a fascinating villain: from the beginning we know that she has probably had at least one of her children as the result of an extramarital affair. Normally you would have sympathy for someone who had endured what Elena's been through, but she's taken the circumstances of her own life and used them to justify the extreme cruelty and control that she inflicts on her children, especially Tita.
Pedro is the most challenging character in the film. He is incredibly self-centered, and not all that well developed, honestly. There were quite a few times, and especially as the film went on, that I found myself thinking "This guy? Still? Really?". But in some ways, I think that's kind of the point. What exists between Tita and Pedro is the immediate, instinctive, undefinable part of love. Even toward the end of the film when Tita can see Pedro's flaws--his selfishness, his jealousy, his neediness--she can't help but be drawn to him. While this is incredibly frustrating at times, it does heighten the tragedy that so much suffering could have been avoided if Tita and Pedro had been allowed to be together in the first place.
The film does have a few not-great points. While Rosaura is definitely not a nice person, the way that the film treats her is incredibly demeaning. It makes a joke of the fact that Pedro doesn't want to have sex with her. Later the film makes the point that her children don't thrive under her care. It feels overly hateful at times, pulling out all the things that are used against women (not a good mom, can't breastfeed, gets fat, etc). And for a film that lingers in an epic way on Tita's pain, it is surprisingly easy to minimize the experience of a native woman, Chencha (Pilar Aranda) who is sexually assaulted. Given the time that the film takes to resolve the emotions of other characters, it's weird that this traumatic event is essentially dropped immediately after it happens.
I liked this one and its magical realism. I didn't love the central romance, but the overall structure of the film was very engaging.
Like Water for Chocolate, 1992
Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is the third daughter of the imposing matriarch Elena (Regina Torné), and as such is given no choice of a life outside of caring for her mother. When Tita falls in love with the handsome Pedro (Marco Leonardi), her mother denies Pedro's request for Tita's hand. Pedro decides that he will marry Tita's sister, Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), so that he can be close to Tita. In the ensuing emotional turmoil that follows, Tita discovers that her feelings are conveyed through her cooking, often having an effect on those around her.
I had vague memories of being shown part of this movie in high school, and have sort of wanted to revisit it ever since. For the most part it did not disappoint as a mix of fantasy and romance.
The central conceit of the film is the power of the food that Tita prepares, and how it impacts those around her in large and small ways. When Pedro brings Tita a bouquet of flowers, Tita uses them in a dish that ignites sexual passion in everyone who eats it. Her sister Gertrudis (Claudette Maillé) becomes so overheated that her body heat sets the showerhouse alight and summons a nearby revolutionary fighter. When Pedro and Rosaura wed, the wedding cake Tita prepares creates a deep longing in everyone so powerful that it proves fatal to one of the guests.
Arizmendi is an engaging lead, a woman who suffers various indignities in the name of being close to the man she loves. She chafes under the oppression of her mother's household rules, but cannot fully find it in herself to break free. In trying to play by the rules, she ends up in a situation more painful than if she'd simply tried to find happiness elsewhere, or run away with Pedro from the get-go.
Mario Iván Martínez turns in a very engaging performance as Dr. John Brown, a kind and progressive doctor who tends to the various members of Tita's family and slowly builds a romance with Tita that's constantly under threat from her lingering attraction to Pedro. Brown is, on paper, a perfect gentleman, and he's a great foil for Pedro. Torne's Elena is a fascinating villain: from the beginning we know that she has probably had at least one of her children as the result of an extramarital affair. Normally you would have sympathy for someone who had endured what Elena's been through, but she's taken the circumstances of her own life and used them to justify the extreme cruelty and control that she inflicts on her children, especially Tita.
Pedro is the most challenging character in the film. He is incredibly self-centered, and not all that well developed, honestly. There were quite a few times, and especially as the film went on, that I found myself thinking "This guy? Still? Really?". But in some ways, I think that's kind of the point. What exists between Tita and Pedro is the immediate, instinctive, undefinable part of love. Even toward the end of the film when Tita can see Pedro's flaws--his selfishness, his jealousy, his neediness--she can't help but be drawn to him. While this is incredibly frustrating at times, it does heighten the tragedy that so much suffering could have been avoided if Tita and Pedro had been allowed to be together in the first place.
The film does have a few not-great points. While Rosaura is definitely not a nice person, the way that the film treats her is incredibly demeaning. It makes a joke of the fact that Pedro doesn't want to have sex with her. Later the film makes the point that her children don't thrive under her care. It feels overly hateful at times, pulling out all the things that are used against women (not a good mom, can't breastfeed, gets fat, etc). And for a film that lingers in an epic way on Tita's pain, it is surprisingly easy to minimize the experience of a native woman, Chencha (Pilar Aranda) who is sexually assaulted. Given the time that the film takes to resolve the emotions of other characters, it's weird that this traumatic event is essentially dropped immediately after it happens.
I liked this one and its magical realism. I didn't love the central romance, but the overall structure of the film was very engaging.