Winner of 10 Ariel Awards—the premier prize given out by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences—Like Water for Chocolate made inroads into U.S. cinema like few other films ever before, surpassing the longstanding I Am Curious (Yellow) to become the highest grossing foreign-language at the time. Americans certainly like their imports sexy.
Set in a Mexican border town circa 1910, we follow the tumultuous love of Tita and Pedro. When Tita's fearsome mother forbids their marriage, a heartbroken Tita discovers she has a unique talent for cooking. What's more, she has a magical ability to transfer her emotions to others through the food she prepares.
"Like Water for Chocolate creates its own intense world of passion and romance, and adds a little comedy and a lot of quail, garlic, honey, chiles, mole, cilantro, rose petals and corn meal," said Roger Ebert is his rave. With ingredients from legend, fairytale, fantasy, and epic romance, and emotive direction by famed actor Alfonso Arau (who you may know from The Wild Bunch, El Topo, or ¡Three Amigos!), Like Water for Chocolate is one of the most sensuous and beloved movies in Mexican cinema and a staple of the foodie canon.