With the gorgeous period costumes, the romance, and the familial dynamics, you would think that Like Water for Chocolate’s latest screen adaptation would be just the same as the film, albeit with a Bridgerton-esque style. To a certain extent, this is true, as the essence of the novel still remains intact and the production is greatly upgraded, however, the added runtime allows this latest adaptation to expand on the novel’s commentary on race and class, and how this played out within the Mexican revolution that was mostly glossed over in the film. Como Agua Para Chocolate captures the novel’s much more rich and layered flavors, in much more fulfilling and scrumptious ways.
Synopsis
Tita de la Garza and Pedro Muzquiz are two souls in love who cannot be together due to deep-rooted family customs, which will force Tita to navigate with magical tints and flavors between the destiny dictated by her family and the fight for her love, while we accompany her in her greatest refuge: the kitchen.
Storyline
Tita de la Garza has a strange relationship with food, with all her emotions bleeding through the food she makes, recreating her happiness and love within anyone who tries her creations. However, when restricted from marrying her true love and neighbor Pedro Muzquiz, her food now shares her sadness.
TLDR
Oh, they are cooking here (literally and figuratively).
What stands out
Of course, in both adaptations, Tita is the central character, but I love that the series takes time to characterize everyone else, especially Gertrudis and Nacha.
