Cinematheque: “Like Water for Chocolate,” 11/6

31 Oct Cinematheque: “Like Water for Chocolate,” 11/6

Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque is collaboration between
The Telluride Film Festival and Wilkinson Public Library. “Como Agua Para Chocolate” or “Like Water For Chocolate,” (1992, Rated R, 105 minutes) takes place Monday, November 6, 6 p.m. at the Telluride Library. Free to all.

Please scroll down to watch the trailer.

The Telluride Film Festival and Wilkinson Public Library are pleased to launch the 19th edition of “Cinematheque.”

From Luis Buñuel to Guillermo del Toro (TFF #44 Festival Guest with his new masterpiece, THE SHAPE OF WATER), from magical realism to documentary, this four-part series explores the landscape of Mexican cinema and the profound impact it has had on the world of film. Hosted by ringmaster and local cinephile, Seth Cagin.

The second in the “Best of Mexican Cinema” series features acclaimed Mexican director and actor, Alfonso Arau.

Born in Mexico City, Arau has had a long and successful career both in front of and behind the camera. His directorial achievements include “Zapata: The Dream of a Hero”; “Like Water for Chocolate” (adapted from the novel written by his ex-wife Laura Esquivel; and “A Walk in the Clouds” with Keanu Reeves and Anthony Quinn.

Arau’s on-screen roles include Captain Herrera, a lieutenant in Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 western, “The Wild Bunch”; El Guapo in “Three Amigos,” (USA, 1986), with Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase; and the smuggler Juan in “Romancing the Stone,” among many others.

Arau’s delicious (pun intended) masterpiece, “Como Agua Para Chocolate,” is an internationally popular romantic fable from Mexico centered on a young woman who discovers her cooking has magical effects.

Tita is the youngest of three daughters in a very traditional Mexican family. She falls in love with the young, handsome Pedro, but is bound by old ground rules to remain unmarried. Tita suffers profound heartbreak when Pedro marries her older sister  – and then the two embark on a secret, blazing affair.

“Food and passion create a sublime alchemy in ‘Like Water for Chocolate,’” wrote the New York Times, “A Mexican film whose characters experience life so intensely that they sometimes literally smolder. The kitchen becomes a source of such witchcraft that a fervently prepared meal can fill diners with lust or grief or nausea, depending upon the cook’s prevailing mood.”