A Feast for the Senses!

Starring: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné, Mario Iván Martínez, Ada Carrasco, Yareli Arizmendi, Claudette Maillé, Pilar Aranda, Farnesio de Bernal, Joaquín Garrido

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Nacha! Don't say that. As my youngest daughter, Tita will care for me until the day I die. She won't marry." - Mamá Elena, regarding Tita's responsibility to her mother

Why watch this? It's lovely, passionate, painful. You know, everything a great romance film should be.

Plot Summary: In early 20th-century Mexico, a young woman named Tita is forbidden from marrying the man she loves due to a family tradition that dictates she must care for her mother. The heartbroken Tita pours her intense emotions into her cooking, which, through magical realism, dramatically affects the family members and guests who eat her food. As Tita's forbidden love for Pedro endures, her culinary creations become her only outlet for expression and a powerful force shaping the lives around her.

Dad's Preview: My sister certainly lived out, "Latino spice is the variety of life!" Her cinema choices often reflected that sentiment. This lovely film from Alfonso Arau (A Walk in the Clouds (1995)) captures a lot of what it means to be of Mexican heritage. It's full of vivid, lusty storytelling, steeped in tradition that is often burdened by ancestral traditions. It's also a beautiful film that centers on forbidden love and finding solace in cooking. I remember blushing when I first watched it, late one night, at my sister's house.  

Alphonso Arau; Miramax