Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 12, 1993 TAG: 9306140057
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Like Water For Chocolate" has won dozens of awards from audiences and critics in film festivals from Tokyo to Spain to Chicago over the past year, and it's easy to see why. Combining elements of Latin American "magical realism" with the basics of an old-fashioned romance, it's an openly emotional work that crosses national and cultural borders. The target audience for "Cliffhanger" may not appreciate it, but everyone else will.
Laura Esquivel wrote the script from her own novel. The film was produced and directed by her husband, Alfonso Arau. Set in 1910, on a ranch in northern Mexico near the Texas border, it's the story of the de la Garza sisters and their domineering mother.
As it begins, the youngest daughter, Tita (Lumi Cavazos), is born, and Mama Elena (Regina Torne) becomes a widow. She decides right then that Tita will never marry. Instead, her life will be devoted to Mama Elena. Her older sisters, the conventional Rosaura (Yareli Arimendi) and the fiery redhead Gertrudis (Claudette Maille) are free to do as they will, but not Tita.
As a child, Tita knuckles under. But as she matures and becomes a more accomplished cook under the guidance of Nacha (Ada Carrasco), she realizes her real power. Whenever Tita is in the grip of a strong emotion, the essence of that feeling is transferred to others through the food she prepares.
In other words, as Laura Esquivel puts it, "In Mexico, hot chocolate is made with water, not milk. To prepare the drink, one brings the water to a boil then adds cocoa. When someone becomes extremely agitated, it is said that they are `like water for chocolate.' This expression is also used to describe a state of sexual arousal."
When Tita is like water for chocolate, astonishing things happen.
Against a strong-willed young woman with that kind of magic, even the strictest mother may not get her way. Others recognize her power. Tita is so radiant that her neighbor Pedro (Marco Leonardi) falls helplessly in love the moment he sees her. Elena, of course, forbids their marriage, and Pedro agrees to marry Rosaura so he can be close to Tita, setting the stage for a complex family conflict that will span decades.
The details of that story would sound silly in synopsis. There are no conventional heroes and villains. Instead it's a story of dreams fulfilled, dreams abandoned and dreams never forgotten. The film succeeds because it creates a strong, haunted atmosphere; a softly lit sense of love, desire and dinner. It ends with a conclusion as perfect as any you'll ever see.
Clearly, it's not for everyone. But if a warm summer mixture of seriousness and soap opera sounds appetizing, try "Like Water For Chocolate."
Like Water For Chocolate ***1/2 A Miramax release playing at the Grandin Theatre. 113 min. Rated R for sexual content, nudity, strong language. In Spanish with subtitles.
by CNB