LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is a four-star film with exquisite cinematography and a humorous fairy-tale quality. Its story centers on Tita, a young woman forbidden by family tradition from marrying the man she loves. Her food, like the food of the loving cook who raised her, possesses special powers.

But the film’s family and moral content is excessive. It includes implied sex, full-female-frontal nudity, slight violence, superstition, witchery, and adultery. The central romantic choices do not warrant respect or sympathy, and the characters’ self-will repeatedly governs their decisions.

You may recognize the film’s artistic strengths, but the −3 Family Content rating controls the answer: skip it.

Set in Mexico near the Texas border in the late 1800s, during the time of the Mexican Revolution, the story begins with Tita’s birth. As the youngest of three daughters, Tita is bound by family tradition to care for her mother instead of marrying the young man she loves.

When her mother refuses to let them marry, Tita must remain at home and do the cooking. Her food carries unusual powers, while another man falls in love with her.

Four stars means the film is artistically excellent despite its serious content problems. The source praises its exquisite cinematography and describes it as a humorous fairy tale.

That visual beauty and imaginative storytelling cannot overcome the film’s implied sex, full-female-frontal nudity, slight violence, superstition, witchery, and adultery. Its craft is impressive, but the overall experience is not recommended.

The film presents family tradition as a powerful force over Tita’s life. Because she is the youngest daughter, she is expected to care for her mother for the rest of her life, even though that prevents her from marrying the man she loves. The story also gives food special powers through fairy-tale magic and superstition.

Its treatment of love is seriously compromised. Tita and Pedro’s choices do not warrant respect or sympathy, and Tita risks the security she has with Dr. John Brown for adultery with Pedro. The characters cannot surrender their self-wills. Mama Elena shows no trust in God for her future, while Pedro calls on God only to help him avoid consummating his marriage.

The film’s Mexican setting and late-1800s context frame these choices within a culturally specific fairy tale, but the underlying moral conflict is recognizable: family duty and romantic desire are allowed to compete without submission to God. Scripture calls believers to trust the Lord rather than be ruled by their own understanding: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is visually exquisite and artistically accomplished, but its excessive content and compromised romantic morality make it unsuitable for families and not worth the risk. Our answer is clear: SKIP IT. For a cleaner choice, see.