Like Water for Chocolate

REVIEW
An immensely satisfying cinematic experience in every regard, this runaway art-house hit is at the same time whimsical, romantic, comic, tragic, sensuous and, above all, pure in spirit. In the grandest Latin American tradition of magical realism, the film tells the tale of Tita, a young woman who is condemned to a lonely and passionless life by her family's cruel tradition that the youngest daughter must care for her mother until she dies. Denied her one true love, Pedro (who Mama arranges to marry Tita's older sister), and forced into servitude, she responds by pouring her emotions into the recipes she is forced to cook for the family, resulting in witches' brews that have a profound effect on all who partake. It's mouth-watering good fun, sprinkled with intrigue and a heavy dash of passion. (Spanish with English subtitles)