Like Water For Chocolate

The screen adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s novel, whose screenplay she co-wrote with Alfonso Arau, became the most successful foreign-language film in American cinemas and enjoyed wide international distribution, including in Poland. The novel itself was not a major success with readers when it was published in 1989, but once brought to the screen by the Mexican director and actor, who had long also worked in Hollywood, it entered film history as one of the most sensual and seductive works of Latin American cinema. In doing so, Arau surpassed the achievements of all earlier generations of Mexican filmmakers working in the United States since the silent era, paving the way for younger colleagues to reach the Oscars soon afterwards. As the youngest daughter, the heroine of Like Water For Chocolate is forbidden to marry, since tradition dictates that she must care for her mother until the latter’s death. Tita pours her passion into cooking, which ultimately also leads her to fulfillment in love.

Piotr Kobus

Alfonso Arau (b. 1932) – Mexican director, actor, and screenwriter who gained international recognition in the 1990s. His films combine magical realism with carefully crafted visual style and a nostalgic, emotionally charged tone. Rooted in Mexican culture, they move between art-house and popular cinema, introducing the sensibility of Latin American filmmaking to wider audiences.

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