Romance And Food- Does It Get Any Better Than This?

There is a scene in “Like water for Chocolate” where the characters sit down to eat a meal of quail in rose petal sauce. As soon as the food touches their lips, the air is filled with beautiful piano music and the diners fall under the romantic spell of the sumptuous dish. It is through the food that the chef transmits her secret desires and all the diners are feeling its effects. The atmosphere is bubbling over with invisible sensuality- the kind that is felt rather than seen. It is the sexiest movie seen I have ever viewed and almost nobody ends up naked.
“Like Water for Chocolate” is a romantic fairy tale about two people- Tita (Lumi Cavazos) and Pedro (Marco Leonardi) - who are passionately in love, but separated by tradition. Set on a ranch in turn-of-the-century Northern Mexico, Tita and her sisters are kept under the thumb of their domineering mother. Tita’s stifled emotions become infused in the food she prepares, causing anyone who eats it to experience their own hidden longings.
With echoes of “Babette’s Feast”, “Like Water for Chocolate” explores food’s ability to nourish the soul as well as the body. Tita finds that she can heal and destroy by using the powers of food. As she cooks, the spirit of her former housekeeper whispers advice and encouragement into her ear.
Like many Mexican stories, ghosts are ever-present in “Like Water for Chocolate”. The characters are haunted by the past- literally in some cases. Tita learns from the wisdom of her elders, but in contrast, feels tied down by their tradition. Indeed, the story it’s self is something of a ghost. It is narrated by Tita’s great niece (Brigida Alexander), as she cooks from her great aunt’s cookbook, passed down through generations.
After reading the novel, “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, I immediately rented the movie. At the time, I found subtitles a nuisance, and not speaking a word of Spanish, I played the DVD in dubbed English. It was not ten minutes before I switched back to subtitles, for the English voices were dreadfully nasal and took away from the Mexican Ambiance considerably. If you do not speak Spanish, I would recommend doing the same.
In some parts of Mexico, hot chocolate is made with water instead of milk. The water must be at its boiling point in order to melt the chocolate. The phrase “Like Water for Chocolate” is a metaphor for this and is used to describe a state of passion or anger. All the characters in this film are “like water for chocolate”. They may try to hide their longings behind the guise of tradition and modesty, but all it takes is a meal of quail in rose petal sauce to bring out the chocolate within.