Like Water For Chocolate

Yum. What a visual experience this movie. The central theme of this movie was cooking. First, Dona Elena forced her daughter Tita to become a servant in her own home, because she was the youngest daughter. As a servant, she waited on her mother and learned to cook. Her older sister, however did not have to spend time in the kitchen, so she did not have any culinary experience. Tita became an excellent cook, using the recipes her grandmother had, and making them with love.

When Tita's mother did not allow her to marry, Pedro used bad logic to marry her sister so he could be near Tita. As they all sat at the table, Pedro carried on his romance with Tita by enjoying her cooking. When his new wife made dinner, Tita's sister, he could not love the experience, because she was not able to cook.

Pedro gave Tita roses because she was such a wonderful cook, and he absolutely adored her. Her mother requested that she throw the roses out, but Tita made a recipe of quail in rose petal sauce, which was so delicious that everyone loved it.

Tita's cooking was more than wonderful, it was magical. The movie created a use of magic by allowing Tita's cooking to create experiences for the audience to view. When her sister was married to her boyfriend Pedro, Tita made the cake for the wedding. Her tears in the batter caused the guests to have vomiting and illness. When Tita cooked, strange things happened. The movie used the theme of magic for the realistic act of cooking. Tita made her dishes with love. So, when Tita cooked, her food was fantastic, because it was made of ingredients that she had embellished with her love. No one else was able to cook like Tita. She gave of herself like no one was able to.

Motorcycle Diaries

This was such an inspirational movie. I believe that Che was motivated by many of his experiences in South America. The pivotal point that sticks out in my mind was when he met the couple in the desert. The man and woman were dirty and talked about the hardship of losing his job and having to give up their children so that they could find work. They said that their hardship was due to them being communists. Che gave the woman his coat and they shared their drink with the couple. When they travelled to the mines, it was Che that became very angry that the men were not given anything to drink and he tried to tell the man in charge that that was inhumane and even threw a rock at the truck, showing his anger and frustration. Later in the movie, when his freind asked him again for the money he said that he had given the American dollars to the couple, I thought that was such a selfless act. Che had gone through near starvation, asthma attacks, walking on foot etc..and never once thought about spending that money on himself.

There were many things in the movie that assisted this man in becoming who he was. He could have taken the easy path, taken his tests, became a doctor and married well. But, he decided to go with his friend and travel, and also go to the leper colony. He had such selfless compassion for others. He left having fun with a beautiful woman to see a dying, elderly woman and he even gave her his medicine so that her last days would be easier. He did not use gloves to take care of the patients with leprosy to show that he did not fear touching their wounds. This was a man that not only did not take the easy route, but he was shaped and molded by his experiences. He did not ignore the calling in him to do more than just what was expected. Many times, it is far easier to just do the status quo and ignore doing the right thing. Che exemplified the human spirit and did above and beyond what is expected of him.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

How are Spanish speaking women interactions with men within the same culture?


The women in this film are very subservient to their men. I view Pepa, Carmen and Candela all trying to please the men in thier lives. Even, Lucia, who obviously has mental issues, wants to please the men, especially Ivan, who obviously treats them as objects and uses them for his own pleasures. The film portrays the women as feeling they are nothing without their men. I find this difficult because I have such a different view of relationships with men in my life, especially my husband. We are equal partners, but I do not need him. I am self sufficient.

Of course this film was set in the 1970's but it was released in 1988, certainly not in times that were not modern. This film made me laugh because it was so outrageous in the relationships between men and women.

Do you find differences between women in the film and today's Amernican women?


Obviously, today's American woman is much more self sufficient and they do not need men. I can speak for myself as an American woman. I work, usually more than 40 hours a week. I go to school,obviously. Cooking, cleaning and child rearing are assumed that it is a shared responsibility between my husband and myself. Since my children are older, I also expect that they help around the house.

If my life was a comedy, I probably would not throw my phone, break glass, spike my meals with barbituates, but I may get a few laughs...enjoying my husbands and daughters company, not antagonizing them by stalking them.


What could have been different in the film if the context was the U.S.?

As above, I believe that the film would have had hillarious moments of the women being the equal to the men in the movie and not being beneath the men. I could imagine that in the scene of Pepa burning the bed that maybe she would be imagining that she was burning up Ivan and Lucia. As a unmarried pregnant female, I think that she would find a lawyer that might get even with Ivan, financially, instead of feeling that she was alone and having to bear the burden of pregnancy on her own. Perhaps when Ivan's son was womanizing everyone in the film, there could have been a scene that all of the women would have tied him up and taken advantage of him.

My impression of this film's plot?

I believe that this film was very funny. The plot of a mistress being pregnant by her lover who was previously married to a psychopathic woman, and the man continues to be a womanizer is not a prevalent plot for most movies in the U.S. However, I thought it was cleverly done.

Do you think there is a difference among women from Spanish America and Spanish Europe?

The women in this film seemed very sophisticated. The young women, like Carmen and older women like Pepa and elderly women, Lucia were different than women portrayed in films like Machuca and La Misma Luna. The women in those films were very into their families unlike the women in this film. Of course, those films dealt with a more serious theme, this film showed women in a different role than previous movies that we have viewed.

Machuca

Gonzolo and Pedro became friends like children do. They stuck up for one another, both were underdogs, Gonzolo was bullied by other kids in his class, and Pedro was the new kid in the class. The lives of the children were different, but both of them had family issues. Pedro's father was an alcoholic and not supportive. Gonzalo's father was supportive but his mother was having an affair with a rich man and had Pedro lie to his father about where he obtained things like shoes and books.

The classes were very apparent in this movie. Pedro lived in a shanty town with limited means. He had holes in his clothes and not very much food on the table. But he had a mother who loved him. Gonzolo had food on the table, a closet full of clothes, even Adidas shoes and a mother who slept with an old man to give him a lot more than that.
The messages were amazing to me. In 1973, I was a 15 year old in Cleveland. I had no idea that this went on in Chile. We as citizens were totally oblivious to this. The idea that people were beaten and killed because of their political belief put me beside myself. If the CIA backed this up, it is incomprehensible.
The class system is a curse and a blessing. We have so much in this country, that we take for granted how unfortunate others are. The human element of this film was very touching. That children, or people for that matter that meet are able to connect and form a friendship, it does not matter if they are poor, rich, in power or not.

Ok, I am going to try this....a first time blogger, to be sure.