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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Contemporary "Like Water for Chocolate", August 17, 2001
Finally! "Tortilla Soup" is such an uplifting and lighthearted portrayal of contemporary Mexican-American life. Although it uses alot of cliche and works so hard to break negative stereotypes, this Mexican remake of another Ang Lee script is an original in its remedy to mainstream beliefs about Mexican-American culture. As in "Like Water for Chocolate" this movie puts cliche to good use by weaving America's popular, but narrow, idea that Latin food and romance are the greatest contributions to American culture. But we also get a fresh taste of the earthy Latin comedy that we so rarely see on the silver screen. Like Paul Rodriguez' comment about food "toppings". The cast gives great performances and Hector Elisondo is brilliant as the backbone of the family and the film. The actors in this film portray the abilities of Hollywood's new faces with a fresh sense of depth and Raquel Welch has reached a point in her career where she can really laugh at herself, and that's funny. "Tortilla Soup" brilliantly and sensually displays the artful process of gourmet Mexican and how food as culture, as art, as tradition, can bring people together.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Way to a Man's Heart is through.............., August 31, 2001
The director, Maria Ripoll and the screenwriter, Vera Blasi had an uphill battle to say the least when they decided to adapt the incomparable Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman" to the screen with their "Tortilla Soup." Martin Naranjo (Hector Elizondo) is a master chef, though semi-retired from the restaurant he created, and living with three daughters: Leticia (Elizabeth Pena), the oldest and a high school chemistry teacher, Carmen (Jacqueline Obrados), an MBA and very successful in business and Maribel, in high school and searching for the "meaning of life" as all teenagers should be doing. This film is very much like "Soul Food" in that most of the action revolves around the dinner table with luscious-looking food designed and prepared by the "Hot Tamales" of Food TV fame. And like Ang Lee's film all the daughters and their father are searching for love, happiness and contentment.Aren't we all? There is no violence except for a few dishes that get broken. In fact nothing much happens except we are made privy to several interesting people and watch as they conduct their lives in a rich, deep and fulfilling manner. Besides Elizondo who always does a great job, the standout performance has to be Jacqueline Obrados as Carmen. Keep your eyes open in the future as I'm sure we are going to see great things from her. An interesting note: Nikolai Kinski, grandson of the famous Klaus and son of the also famous Nastassia plays Maribel's boyfriend, Andy. That's three generations of Kinski's now in the movies and Nikolai makes a good impression in a basic no frills role. Food means love, sharing and camaraderie in "Tortilla Soup," (Mexican characters) as it did in "Soul Food"(African-American characters) and "Eat Drink Man Woman" (Taiwanese characters). Maybe the United Nations should make note of this. You think?
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As irresistible as margaritas, guacamole, y salsa, December 17, 2003
A multigenerational tale of a widowed Latino father trying to hold his family of 3 fractious daughters together with the bond of carefully prepared meals. The food preparation scenes will keep you spellbound and can be appreciated on many levels: cooking lesson (really!), act of love, devotion, offering of sacrifice, parental love from a man who has a hard time saying I Love You. His daughters, a repressed Catholic, a liberated high schooler, and a 'modern woman,' just won't conform to his standards of proper Latinas. Then Raquel Welch, a nosy, in-your-face widow comes on the scene, and the fireworks begin. But there's the food. Always the food, beginning, middle, and end. Don't miss it.
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