Like Water for Chocolate
I really enjoyed this movie. There is alot of magical realism intertwined throughout the movie. I really didn't get what magical realism was from the reading, but after watching the movie....I get it! The concept of magical realism was introduce very early in the movie. The story of Tita's birth was the first use of it. It shows her entering the world in a flood of tears which then dried into enough salt to be used for years in the kitchen. Being born in a flood of tears was a sign of foreboding for Tita. They weren't tears of joy, but rather tears of sadness shed by her mother. Tears caused by recent death of her husband when he found out she had been unfaithful and that Gertrudis wasn't his daughter. Her birth sets the tone for her life of sadness and lost love.
The tradition, or curse as I see it, of the youngest daughter not being able to marry until her mother's death so that she can care for her is proposterous. When Tita told her mother that Pedro was interested in her, Mama Elena seemed to take an exaggerated joy in telling Tita she could forget about him because of the tradition. And then to turn around and offer Rosaura's hand in marriage to Pedro seemed especially cruel. Tita seems to accepts her "lot" in life for her mothers sake, but in reality she is secretly rebeling against it. The love between Tita and Pedro was too strong to broken despite all the obstacles in thier way.
Tita was blessed to have Nacha in her life. She was her fairy godmother of sorts. Tita was basically raised by Nacha in the kitchen. It was with Nacha's help that Tita learned the power that food offered her. For example, she cries into the wedding cake batter and then the next day when the wedding guests eat the cake, they are overwhelmed with emotion and start crying and then become ill, thus ruining the wedding. And then later, when Pedro gives her roses, a sign of his love, Mama Elena sees them and tells Tita to get rid of them. Nacha then comes toTita, from beyond, and tells her to use the roses in the meal she is preparing for her family. The rose sauce causes each of them to become overcome with emotion and passion. And then at the end of the movie, after Esperanza's wedding, when Pedro and Tita are finally able to be together after many, many years, it is Nacha that seemed to have prepared the "love nest" for them. Nacha's coming to Tita 'from beyond" is also another example of magical realism.
Gail, I would have to agree with you in that I too did not quite understand the concept of magical realism by simply reading the handout. With so many examples of magical realism in the film, it also helped me to have a better grasp on the concept. I also think it is really interesting what you mentioned about the ‘flood of tears’. I remembered from watching the film that an individual what sweeping the salt off the floor but I did not make the connection with the tears. This is however an ideal way to forecast Tita’s future of sadness and heartbreak. There is such a great amount of symbolism in this film that I believe you could watch it countless times and still see things that you didn’t catch the first time. From the length of Tita’s quilt, to the concept of the matches, the fact that Esperanza name meant ‘hope’, or even the lightening and thunder that occurred each time Pedro and Tita were together which seemed to represent Mama Elena’s disapproval for their relationship are just a few examples of numerous amounts of symbolism throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the tradition was more of a curse for Tita. It was also amazing to me how cruel Elena was to her daughter. She really did seem to get some sort of pleasure from seeing Tita unhappy. The more Tita seemed to suffer, the more thrilled Elena became. It is hard to understand how a mother could have such feelings toward her own child. With one of the many examples of magical realism, when Elena came back to harass Tita about being pregnant, it was a little scary. Elena was really just a horrid person all around.
ReplyDeleteWe all seem to agree the mother Elena was a very wicked person. She seemed to delight in causing sorrow and pain to Tita. Such traditions would never be allowed in today's society. I do not believe they are still prevalent in Spanish cultures today. I did not understand the magical realism concept until watching the film. The film really used a lot of magical realism. Some was obvious and other parts were more subtle. I believe if I watched again I would notice many more incidence of the magical realism.
ReplyDelete