Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate

Let me start by saying that I truly enjoyed this film. It had a little bit of a Cinderella story line and also that of Lady Godiva. I only wish that Tita and Pedro could have had a longer life together. Now having said that, what a way to go! To have that much love and passion inside that it engulfed them both in flames. Their love was powerful, passionate and truly lasted a lifetime.
Magic realism is intertwined throughout this film. We see it from start to finish. It is so well done that we know what is occurring is fantasy but with the way it is presented it seems real. The way the rose sauce affects everyone, especially Gertrudis, can’t happen in reality but when it occurs in the film it seems real to us. Another example of magic realism is when we see the ghost of Nacha and Elena talking to Tita. Nacha’s ghost represented love giving Tita advice on everything from cooking to healing Pedro’s burns. Elena’s ghost represented evil. Even being dead didn’t stop her from trying to make Tita’s life miserable and after Tita stood up to her she turned her anger onto Pedro and caused him to be severely burned. But the most powerful example came at the end when Tita started eating the matches which ignited the passion from inside engulfing the two lovers in flames. The movie would definitely not have been as enjoyable without the use of magic realism.
One topic that is discussed throughout the film is that of tradition. I know in my family we have several traditions but none which dictates that as the youngest I would have to take care of my mother until she dies and never be able to marry because of it. I would take care of my mother out of love and respect not because I was ordered to do so. This tradition sentenced Tita to a life of servitude. This is also how this movie reminds me of Cinderella except what makes this film worse is that in Cinderella she was treated badly by her stepmom, Tita was treated like a slave by her own mother. After Elena died, Rosaura threatened to carry on the tradition with her own daughter Esperanza. Tita told Rosaura that she would never allow that to happen and she didn’t. Esperanza was allowed to marry and when she had her own daughter she honored her aunt by naming her own daughter Tita.





This should come as no shock but the common message throughout the film is that of love. It is a message of lost love, denied love, and undying love. The common thread in all of these is Tita. She lost her father shortly after her birth, because she was the youngest she was unable to marry the man that she loved, and from the first moment their eyes met Tita only loved Pedro and they took that love with them to the grave. Love is powerful but as seen in Like Water for Chocolate it is also magical.