Customer Reviews

Like Water for Chocolate [VHS]

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

The movie on its own (like the book) is imaginative and very good and -- at least with the Spanish language soundtrack -- I would rate it between four and five stars. I have only given the DVD two stars, however, (and that is being generous), because approximately one-sixth of the film (18 of its original 123 minutes) has been inexplicably cut, leaving a sadly truncated 105-minute version. It is unclear why Buena Vista Home Entertainment chose to delete nearly a sixth of the film, but even if they believed that a shorter version would appeal to a wider audience (maybe, maybe not), it is unforgivable that they did not include the missing footage as "deleted scenes" so that those who wanted to see the entire film would be able to do so. This is simply too big a cut for buyers to accept (even at this rather attractive price). Rather than pay for a film that has been so badly butchered (the only worse case I know of is the Region 2 (European) version of "The Big Country," from which nearly an hour was cut, for reasons no one can explain), I will avoid buying this film on DVD until Buena Vista provides a "Collector's" or "Director's Cut" version that restores the film -- one way or another -- to its full original length.

This film is a feast for the eyes. Based upon the best selling novela of the same name by Laura Esquivel, who also wrote the screenplay, the film successfully captures this tale of forbidden love. Well directed by Laura Esquivel's husband, Alfonso Arau (The Magnificent Ambersons, A Walk In the Clouds), the cast delivers wonderful performances in this mystical tale.

During the early twentieth century in Mexico, just south of the border, a girl catches the eye of boy. A number of years later, the boy, Pedro, now a young man, speaks to the girl, Tita, now a young woman, and declares his heartfelt, passionate love for her. Pedro (Marco Leonardi) wants Tita (Lumi Cavazos) to marry him.

He and his father meet with Tita's mother, Elena (Regina Torne), and ask if she would give her consent to a union between Pedro and Tita, Elena's youngest daughter. Elena forbids such a marriage to take place, as it is an unbroken family tradition that the youngest daughter remain single, so that she may take care of her mother until the mother dies. Such is the destiny of Tita. Elena, instead, cruelly offers to have her oldest daughter, Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), marry Pedro.

Surprisingly, Pedro agrees to marry Rosaura, his twisted logic being that this is the only way he can be close to Tita. Thus, begins an untenable situation. Tita, forced by her selfish, harridan of a mother to prepare the wedding feast for Rosaura and Pedro, begins a lifelong sublimation of her passion and emotions with food. Its mystical properties become self evident in the expert hands of Tita, as she becomes a superlative cook. She has the ability to imbue the food that she prepares with the fervor and feelings, both good and bad, that she dare not express. Her love, her pain, her passion is evident in every delightful and delicious dish that she creates, and her feelings manifest themselves in those who ingest her meals.

This is a glorious film about love, filled with mystical, magical, and supernatural portents. Sensual and evocative, it details the road that Tita and Pedro must travel before their journey is complete. Wonderfully acted and beautifully told, theirs is a story that will long linger in the mind of the viewer. Awash in amber tones, the brilliant cinematography contributes to the mystical properties of this film. Sumptuous and surreal, it is a feast for the eyes and not to be missed. Bravo!

The DVD offers clear visuals and great sound. It does not offer much in the way of special features. Watch it in the original Spanish with English subtitles in order to retain the intended flavor of this superlative film.

"Como agua para chocolate" truly takes Laura Esquivel's emotional and magical story and brings it to life. Taking the romance of "Romeo and Juliet" and combining it with the magic from "Cinderella", "Como agua para chocolate" includes 'ingredients' for almost any viewer. With the film's predominantly female cast along with the kitchen as the main setting, many often assume that this film only pleases a female audience. However, anyone searching for a multisensory experience. in which taste, smell and touch seem to become possible, should rent this movie. Even those who are unable to understand the words, whether they be in english or spanish, will never feel left out during this film. The director's interpretation of color, ilumination and angles, along with the actors' facial expressions and body language, is what truly make this film magical. Esquivel succeeds in her novel by making a reader savor each one of her words and descriptions, and this adaptation, even without the words, allows its audience to savor and experience the same themes of unconditional love, struggle and liberation. Scenes of passion and frustration, of sadness and sheer relief, only add to the film's ability to reach out and become a story of our very own. From the first moment when the narrator talks to us while peeling an onion, we are invited into Tita's kitchen and asked to join this family on a journey. The only problem is being able to leave Mama Elena's ranch at the end of the film and return to 'reality.' "Como agua para chocolate" is truly HOT, and anyone who finishes this film without being entertained as well as emotionally satisfied has not taken in the whole experience that this film has to offer.

.....if you can get the same amount of passion as these two lovers.

I absolutely adore this sensual, quirky romantic comedy drama about forbidden love and family ties set in early twentieth century Mexico.

When Tita, the youngest of three daughters, falls in love with Pedro, a local lad, it seems only right that the two should marry and live happily ever after. But Tita's strict and cold-hearted mother has other ideas; according to a family tradition the youngest daughter in the family must stay at home and take care of her mother until she dies and thus making marriage at the bottom of the list of priorities. Determined to stick to it, Tita's mother forbids the marriage and instead offers the hand of her eldest daughter to Pedro. Believing that through marrying her sister it will mean remaining close to Tita, Pedro consents without fully realising the strain on the family this move will involve....

This film maintains it's charm, passion and wit all the way through and there are also really good performances from everyone especially Lumi Cavazos as the sexually frustrated heroine Tita.

I confess to being shocked by all the nudity but then in the Latin countries nudity is no big deal and it is not at all gratuitous - so if you're hiring for titilation then you'll be disappointed

Just in case you're confused by the seemingly nonsensical title it translates into "Como Agua Para Chocolate" in Spanish and is a South American idiom used to describe someone who is sexually frustrated. And there is certainly plenty of that here.....

When I was in college, I minored in Spanish, and as part of one of my Spanish courses, I had to see the movie "Como agua para chocolate" or "Like water for chocolate" (though I'll call it by its Spanish title). After seeing it, I realized it was a wonderful movie.

"Como agua para chocolate" is a film about Tia, a Mexican girl who wants to marry a boy named Pedro. Her only problem -- and it's a bad one -- is her mother, Mama Elena. Mama Elena upholds an old family tradition where the youngest daughter is to stay home and take care of her mother. It's a good idea in theory, but in practice somebody obviously failed to consider what might happen to the youngest daughter when the mother dies. Because Mama Elena insists that Pedro marry Rosaura and not Tita, Pedro does marry Rosaura -- but only to be near Tita. Tita has to cook the wedding feast, and her tears fall into the batter of the wedding cake. And the magic begins.

The two primary actresses are excellent. I really wanted Tita to find happiness -- especially with Pedro. As for Mama Elena, I hated her enough to want to strangle her. Kudos to the actress who played her for creating such a despicable part. The actor who played Pedro was acceptable, but he didn't have that much to do. Of course, it is a film where women are the most important characters, so maybe that's why the actor didn't have much to do.

I'm not a food lover, but I am a romantic, and I recommend "Como agua para chocolate" for those who are learning Spanish, for romantics, and for food lovers.

Belle Book

Like Water for Chocolate is a stunning movie about an early 20th century Mexican girl who supresses her love for a boy to meet cultural expectations that the youngest daughter in the family remains unmarried to care for her aging mother. Forced to repress her love, she channels her passion into cooking for the family. The stylistic features of this movie reminded me of the filmaking of Fellini. This particular version of the movie was spoiled, in my opinion, by some rather emotionless reading of the parts by the persons hired to dub the film in English. Don't be disappointed -- get the Spanish language, English subtitled version and enjoy the original passion of the film. The Spanish language version rates two more stars, for a total of five.

WHY is this film being sold in an edited version????? Where is the original 144 minute theatrical release?!

Bad Disney! Bad!!

"Como agua para chocolate" is a fabulous feast of film, pun intended for the dollops of cooking that make a big chunk of the movie.

Set in Mexico at the turn of the century, Tita is doomed never to marry. Her family's tradition requires the first born daughter to spend her life taking care of her mother until death. But Tita is in love with Pedro, and he with her. Since he cannot marry Tita, he asks for the hand of her sister, in order to be near Tita. Tita's third sister runs off with a group of guerillas fighting in the civil war. The movie follows Tita and Pedro through 1932.

Along the way, the movie manages to develop some interesting themes about the roles of women in Mexico. The women in the movie are repressed in, and yet empowered by, the kitchen which gives them a mystical control over everyone who eats their meals. Tita, in particular, is forced into the kitchen by her mother and she learns to appropriate the kitchen as her tool of revenge. Food also creates a bound between women that eludes time.

Mexican national identity is explored with the mix (often a clash) of cultures that seem to define Mexican History -- Spanish colonialism and its idiosynchracies, indigenous beliefs and traditions, and to an extent American influences.

While not a deeply profound film, it is insightful, well done (no food pun intended) and a very refreshing change of tone for movie buffs -- the direction, the cinematography and the narrative lush with a magical quality. It's a tribute to an old vision of romantic love, a love that transcends time, and overcomes distance, madness, and even the direct interference of Tita's family. Some viewers may find this style and tone slow, even boring. But for those who enjoy contemplative film making this is a very enjoyable treat.

If you care about movies that veer around culinary moments, "Eat Drink Man Woman" (Chinese) is another excellent movie to wrap your evening around.

This movie focuses on female roles in the Mexican society during the Mexican Revolution. The principal character, Tita, is subjected to a life of servatude to her mother because of the family tradition that decrees the youngest daughter must give up everything to provide for her mother. She is subjected to being the family cook, her mother's caretaker, and the right not to marry until the death of her mother. The movie takes you through this girl's life as she encounters the stuggles of this arrangement. Alfonso Arau did a tremendous job visualizing the repression and liberation of Tita. Althogh the descriptions that flavor the novel this movie is based on are missing, the visual image clearly overcompensates for the lack of description. Overall this movie has a captivation story that carrries you into the life of Tita and her family. Como Agua Para Chocolate definately will relate better to the female viewers because so many of Tita's experiences, from cooking, to nursing a baby, to falling in love, are common to the life of a woman

If you like Spanish-language films and are not averse to some of the "magical realist" aspects of Latin American cinema, you should enjoy this film. The problem is that the film was originally released in a 144-minute version, and then was commercially released in a 113-minute version, and neither this Mexican-produced DVD nor the American equivalent apparently is more than 105 minutes long. (Some ads even say that the Mexican issue is "about 90 minutes" -- whatever that means.) So at best the Mexican release of the DVD, even if 105 minutes long, has cut out 39 minutes of the film! As another reviewer asked, will it take us until Criterion finally decides to rescue the full film before we can have a look at the original 144-minute version on DVD? Or even the full 113-minute version that was commercially released, perhaps with the other 31 minutes available as "extra scenes"? Or could the distributor do what other DVD distributors have done, and offer BOTH the 144-minute original release AND the 113-minute commercially released versions together on opposite sides of the same disc? It is simply too much to have the only DVD versions available as truncated as this one and the currently available US version are. This really is a missed opportunity for the distributor, and for the viewer as well. Again, the film itself is wonderful, and a great companion to anyone who is reading the book (in Spanish or in English). But this DVD release and the US equivalent are great disappointments because of what they have omitted.