Like Water for Chocolate (1993)

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The whore lost her virginity to some random dude before she got married. Terrible movie.At the beginning of the novel, Tita was a generally submissive young lady. As the novel progresses, Tita learns to disobey the injustice of her mother, and gradually becomes more and more adept at expressing her inner fire through various means. At first, cooking was her only outlet, but through self-discovery she learned to verbalize and actualize her feelings, and stand up to her despotic mother. At the beginning of the novel, Tita was a generally submissive young lady. As the novel progresses, Tita learns to disobey the injustice of her mother, and gradually becomes more and more adept at expressing her inner fire through various means. At first, cooking was her only outlet, but through self-discovery she learned to verbalize and actualize her feelings, and stand up to her despotic mother. At the beginning of the novel, Tita was a generally submissive young lady. As the novel progresses, Tita learns to disobey the injustice of her mother, and gradually becomes more and more adept at expressing her inner fire through various means. At first, cooking was her only outlet, but through self-discovery she learned to verbalize and actualize her feelings, and stand up to her despotic mother.

This 1992 Mexican film is full of both symbolism and cultural significance, and it helped me to appreciate the fantasy and mysticism reflected within the narrative. Tita is the youngest of three daughters, held captive by the traditions of her tenacious mother, which dictate that she is not allowed to marry, as she must care for her mother until her death. Yet, Pedro has already announced his passionate love for Tita, and in hopes of being near her, marries her older sister. Tita soon discovers she is able to communicate and share her emotions through her cooking, which she makes for Pedro to demonstrate her love for him. I found the film to be very intriguing in a symbolic sense, and would be interested to read the original book. I enjoyed viewing the early twentieth century culture richly interwoven into the storyline, and the eroticism was very prevalent, but portrayed in an artistic and reflective manner; however, it's not a film I would choose to watch again.

While the movie was not a complete let down, it was also not quite as satisfying as the book. The book had so much more emotion to it that the movie had trouble capturing. I found that in the movie, the magical realism was a bit too much. Magical realism works really well in one's mine but is much harder to put on screen. I also felt that the magical realism in the film took away from the importance of the food. While the food played such a vital role in the book, it took more of a backseat role in the film. I also think that the movie was not what I was hoping for because of the way I originally pictured the characters as I read the book. The book had such great imagery that I was able to create a sort of movie in my mind; when the film did not match the one I had imagined, I was left with a sort of disappointment. It may be one of those films that is much more wonderful if the viewer has not previously read the book. While the film was not as good as the book, I do still think the film did a good job of highlighting the key points of the book. For example, the rocky relationship between Mama Elena and Tita was portrayed very well. Overall it was not a terrible movie and it was a fresh new way to look at the events of the book the way someone else pictured them.

The movie did live up to the book and did not capture the powerful emotions expressed by Tita and Pedro. The plot seemed rushed compared to the book's and not much time was spent on key scenes. During scenes pertaining to the Mexican Revolution, comical music was played which significantly took away from the seriousness of the time period. Though the scenes of magical realism were shot well, they did not seem as powerful as in the book. The director did do a particularly good job with Tita's mental breakdown. Overall I thought that it was decent and would recommend this movie to anyone who found interest in the book despite some of its flaws.