Like Water for Chocolate

"In Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion."

1992 1h 45m ES

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 570

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Tita is passionately in love with Pedro, but her controlling mother forbids her from marrying him. When Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares, infecting all who eat it with her intense heartbreak.

“In Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion.”

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Cast

Lumi Cavazos
Tita
Marco Leonardi
Pedro Muzquiz
Regina Torné
Mamá Elena
Mario Iván Martínez
John Brown
Ada Carrasco
Nacha
Yareli Arizmendi
Rosaura
Claudette Maillé
Gertrudis
Pilar Aranda
Chencha

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfonso Arau
Writers: Laura Esquivel
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: Mexico

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $22M — a 10.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfonso Arau, shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Leo Brouwer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carlos Bolado shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lumi Cavazos and Marco Leonardi and Regina Torné carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfonso Arau directs. Emmanuel Lubezki behind the camera. Leo Brouwer scores. Carlos Bolado cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Mexico. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $22M — a 10.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
334 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Directed by Alfonso Arau, shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Leo Brouwer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Carlos Bolado shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Lumi Cavazos and Marco Leonardi and Regina Torné carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "In Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion.".
10IMDB entry: tt0103994 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "jealousy", "sibling relationship", "based on novel or book", "cooking".