7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In a Mexican border town in 1910, neighbours Pedro and Tita wish to marry, but Tita's mother Elena refuses to give her consent, since she wants her youngest daughter to stay living with her as a full-time carer. So Pedro marries Tita's sister Rosario instead and Tita pours her innermost feelings into her cooking, triggering similar responses in anyone who samples it, whether lovelorn grief or overwhelming passion.
Starring: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné, Mario Iván Martínez, Ada CarrascoRomance | 100% |
Drama | 28% |
Foreign | 23% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
1963 audiences were titillated as well as perhaps a bit shocked by a now legendary scene in Tony Richardson’s film of Henry Fielding’s rambunctious novel Tom Jones. Tom, a bit of a rake and (maybe unintentional) womanizer, met an older female who might actually have been his birth mother. The two share a memorable meal where everything they stuff into their lascivious mouths seems to be shorthand for sex. Though it’s played mostly for laughs, there’s a bit of a salacious subtext by dint of the fact that the two might be related. But it’s the scene’s ebullient sexuality that is probably most remembered to this day. Those who want something of that same recipe, only expanded to fill an entire feature film, might get their fill with Like Water for Chocolate, a film that appeared almost three decades after Tom Jones, but which shares a similar lustiness, albeit perhaps not one quite so ribald as the Fielding work. In fact, Like Water for Chocolate is at its core a story of sublimated passion, where food doesn’t serve as a symbol of sexual desire, it actually takes the place of it. Based on Laura Esquivel's best selling 1989 novel, the film was directed by Esquivel’s then husband Alfonso Arau. Esquivel was trafficking in so-called “magical realism”, a literary conceit that is difficult if not impossible to translate effectively to the screen, but Arau manages to invest the film with at least a little cinematic sleight of hand, even if the “realism” part is often a question of degree. In fact, Like Water for Chocolate almost plays like a bedtime story (no irony intended, considering the sexual aspects) for grown ups, a fable of sorts about true love and delicious food and everything that comes between both.
Like Water for Chocolate is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Lionsgate's press materials tout "beautifully restored picture and color" as well as "a revamped audio mix", though it's unclear if this domestic release is sourced off a different master than the many foreign Blu-rays of this title that have appeared over the past year or so. One way or the other, the color here is undeniably exceptional, capturing Arau's fluent use of ambers, golds, purples and oranges. Arau and his DPs Steven Bernstein and Emmanuel Lubezki prefer a slightly gauzy, diffuse approach here, so very little in this film is sharp by contemporary standards, and even clarity is a bit less than stellar at times. The biggest issue here for some viewers is going to be the very heavy grainfield. It's almost always noticeable, and when it spikes during darker sequences it may prove to be at least a minor distraction for some. There are no real problems with the elements here, and no signs of aggressive digital tweaking. Contrast is strong and steady, and Like Water for Chocolate looks organic, if very grainy, on Blu-ray.
Like Water for Chocolate "revamped" audio consists of a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Spanish language. While not incredibly immersive, the surround track does place ambient environmental effects throughout the soundstage, and it also nicely opens up Leo Brouwer's colorful score. Dialogue still tends to be anchored front and center (along with the occasional voiceover). Fidelity is fine here, with no issues whatsoever to cause any worry.
If Tom Jones' famous banquet scene was all about the eating, Like Water for Chocolate is much more about the cooking. Both films exploit an understandable metaphor here, but Like Water for Chocolate struggles at times to maintain Esquivel's magical realism stance. What works well in this film is the tug of emotions, especially as lives wander through years of isolation and frustration. The cast is marvelous, and Arau creates a very scenic tour of old world Mexico (and beyond). There's an ineffable sadness to much of this film, but also a sense of triumph as well. Grain haters would be well advised to steer clear of this release. For others, Like Water for Chocolate comes Recommended.
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