Foreign films only reach the United States, but Mexican films Como agua para chocolate It managed to conquer American cinemas. The Rotterdam Festival audience was also very enthusiastic about this culinary fairy tale about elusive love at the beginning of this year.
Como agua para chocolate Adapted from Laura Esquivel's hit novel Red roses and tortillasWhich highly appreciates the literary tradition of magical realism in Latin America. Exaggeration, impossible phenomena, irrationality and, above all, many emotions are the components of magical realism, of which Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Julio Cortázar are the most famous representatives.
The genre, which combines Indian mysticism with Catholic miracles, is ideally suited to visual media such as films. But directors with ambitions in this direction need to be careful: it is very tempting to give in to the magic element with all kinds of special effects. Bill August fell into this trap with him House of spiritsNot least because he didn't cast the talented Latino actors who populate Hollywood, but rather cold-blooded WASP stars like Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.
air bubble
Happy he is Como agua para chocolate Entirely on Mexican lines. The film is also a family affair: Laura Esquivel is married to producer/director Alfonso Arau, who is also Bandito It can be admired Wild bouquet And Flirting with stone.
As the film's producer, he initially sought a female director to adapt the delicate novel about emotion and pain, but Esquivel insisted that her husband undertake the task. Thanks to the mortgage on their home, they were able to finance a budget of $2 million; Ten times more than the average Mexican film. The film has now grossed $21 million in America, making it the most successful foreign film since Cage aux folles (1979).
The marital partnership between Esquivel and Arau created a magical bubble. Como agua para chocolate Your sense of taste deviates between two heavy dishes, just to stay in the cooking atmosphere. The film contains enough tension, humor, and even a spark of excitement here and there, to make the viewer leave the cinema in a good mood.
The matriarch
The film stays close to the original book, which Esquivel himself adapted into a screenplay. The twelve chapters of the novel parallel the twelve months and each begins with a description that reflects feelings and events from the life of the novel's protagonist, Tita. With this, Esquivel wants to emphasize the ritual and emotional aspect of cooking. The film takes place largely in the kitchen.
Tita (played by the promising Lumi Cavazos) is the youngest daughter of a family ruled by a very strict mother, Mama Elena. According to ancient family traditions, Tita is not allowed to marry because younger daughters must continue to take care of their mother. This becomes a big problem when she falls in love with the boy next door, Pedro, played by Marco Leonardi (Cinema heaven) which is considered unstable Latin lover He leaves Antonio Banderas' charm far behind him, but he can't do much more with his role.
Tita's problems really begin when Pedro decides to marry her sister Rosaura so he can stay close to his true love. Mama Elena watches both lovers like a hawk. There's more crying in the kitchen, and not just when Tita is peeling onions. The situation with Pedro at home became unbearable for the virginal kitchen princess. When Mama Elena sends Pedro and young Rosaura's family to Texas because she is still unsure of the situation, Tita ends up in a serious crisis that provides a serious moment in this film full of surreal jokes. American doctor John Brown lovingly cares for the deranged victim of Mama Elena's cruelty. Tita is grateful to him and thinks she feels some love for the clumsy doctor. She hopes to release her passion for Pedro through engagement, but it cannot be extinguished overnight.
Only when Tita and Pedro reach middle age do they end up in bed together. Fireworks no less. When both lovers experience climax at the same time, Esquivel's message comes out of the box like the devil: Passion is the main universal force and consumes everything, including love.
