LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is a wonderful, magical movie from Mexico. It is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. As I watched it, I keep thinking it reminded me of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and of Wager's opera Gotterdammerung.
The basic plot of the story is that there is a family in Mexico during the early part of this century where they have always had a tradition that the youngest girl must take care of her mother and never marry until her mother dies. The movie is about the youngest daughter. Her mother is cruel and dictatorial. The young girl falls in love with a boy, but her mother says she can not marry him and so he marries the girl's sister instead.
Within the confines of the basic plot setup is the heart of the movie. The youngest girl learns how to do a sort of magic with food. Try to imagine what she does. You will not be near as imaginative as the author (Laura Esquivel) was. I can only say: Wow! This food magic is the heart of the movie. I will not give any of it away, but I will say this. If your sweetheart seems to love cooking above all else and is extremely talented at it, then watch out!
The cinematography (Steve Bernstein and Emmanuel Lubezki) and the set decoration are very moving. It is set on a ranch. Even the outhouses, outdoor sleeping areas, and bathtubs play key roles. Most of the action however happens in the kitchen and the dinning room. Watch the lighting especially. The nights scenes are all candlelit and have a wonderful dark radiant glow. The day scenes inside have the natural light pouring in with a different beautiful lighting effect.
The director (Alfonso Arau) knew exactly what he wanted to do and did it flawlessly. The casting of the lead girl (Lumi Cavazos) and the bitter mother (Regina Torne) was perfect. I liked the way the girl was kind of cute but mainly homely. Her acting was just about perfect. The mother's was as well. Very easy to hate the mother. I thought the acting of the guy (Marco Leonardi) she falls in love was minimal. He seemed to be relying on his good looks to carry his part.
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is in Spanish with easy to follow English subtitles. The movie is a short 1:53. It is rated R for a few scenes of full nudity of both sexes, but I think PG-13 would have been more appropriate. I think it would be an excellent show for teenagers to see. Oh yes, the ending is excellent. I recommend you see it and have no trouble awarding it *** 1/2.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: July 14, 1994
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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