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Romanticism vs. Magic Realism in Like Water for Chocolates Film Adaptation By Daniel Sega Like Water for Chocolate is a movie that tries to do the impossible: translate into a film a magic realistic novel. Wrote by Laura Esquivel in 1989, the novel uses many components of magic realism, and such components are hard to visualize on the screen. Alfonso Arau, who has directed Hollywood movies like Dare to Love Me and A Walk in the Clouds, its married to Laura and directs what many consider the best attempt (there arent many) of a magic realistic movie, but of course, not without his wifes help who wrote the script and screenplay for the movie. The movie does succeed in creating the feeling that what youre watching is magic realism, but as a film it losses most of the essence of a magic realistic novel and these characteristics end up relegated to a second plane versus the romanticism features presented in the story. The movie starts with the narration of the protagonists grand-nephew, 2 generation in the future of the history, in a kitchen that has been clearly touched by modernity. She puts half an onion in her head to prevent her from crying too much while reading her grand-aunt, Tita, recipe book, who was born (in a kitchen) accompanied by torrent of tears that made 20 kilograms of salt when the liquid evaporated. The used of numbers to describe with precision, the time juxtaposition and the magic happening of the tear birth gives the movie a strong magic realistic component right from the start. It also presents food, a main theme in the story. Titas life was decided when her mom, Elena, says to her husband another girl! Another girl indeed, the youngest of three sisters which by tradition is destined to not marry and take care of her mother until

she dies, and to do nothing more, nothing less. This imprisonment and her natural ability to cook makes the kitchen the perfect place to control her thinking of her fate, and her food eventually transforms in the only way she can reach to people, and express her emotions, without her mom noticing. The romanticist component of the movie in presented earlier also, when Pedro declares Tita his love which is of course forbidden; reason why she, without knowing, uses her food to communicate her corresponding feelings to him, that marries to one of her sisters to be close to Tita. Not only Pedro but all the household eats Titas infused with passion cooking, which causes an effect in her older sister, Gertrudis, in whom the red flame passion is materialized as she burns the latrine of the ranch. This calls the attention of the leader of the Mexican Revolution that passes by and picks her up in an random event that reminds the viewer of the magic realism part of the story; local history in somewhat involve in the family, in a way a realist part of magic realism, like it is in the pioneer and representative magic realist novel 100 years of Solitude of Garcia Marquez. Her mother grown conscious of Pedros reason for marrying her daughter and order them to leave to Texas as her strictness augments with Tita who finally loses her temper when she is told that her baby nephew died in Texas. Her mothers attitude against her, her forbidden love, the dead of her nephew; all of this she wasnt able to express, which makes her insane and incapable to talk. She is rescued by the familys doctor, a kind American named John that also falls for her and eventually thanks to help of Chencha, Titas only friend, cures her insanity and

restore her speech. When Tita is finally free from her moms claws, Elena is killed by a band of bandits that assault the ranch. This reunited the family in the ranch (even Gertrudis goes back at some point) and gives Tita the opportunity to raise her niece, the second child of Pedro and her sister, Esperanza (which is the mother of the narrator). Esperanza finally marries an American and leaves the house, and for the first time Pedro and Tita are alone. The consummation of his love, finally, gets him so exhilarated that he dies of the emotion by igniting all his internal matches at once: a Mexican Amerindian tale that John tells Tita explains the occurrence. She then ignites all her souls matches and dies with the love of her life. The romantic story that underlies the magic realism of the plot appears strongly at the end. The theme of forbidden love is also central of the narrative of the movie and plus the Romeo and Juliet ending gives the movie a romantic factor stronger than a magic realism factor. Even so, magic realism and Latin American literate itself is known for combining genres, and this film does it well making to art styles converge but stay perfectly identifiable. This romantic trend also justifies the solid straight line structure the movie has. While I have not read the novel, Its known that comprehends unusual grammar and writing techniques, as it is also a receipt book that contains detailed preparation steps for Titas ditches intercalated with the story; this characteristic is a strong part of the magic realism in the novel that brakes the straight-line fashion of the tale and is omitted in the movie which undermines its magic realism essence.

The romantic structure also permits for the movie to have a clear protagonist, Tita, and have the story revolve around her. Multiple protagonists is a important characteristic of 100 Years of Solitude and other defining magic realistic novels. As a contrast, the use of numbers to keep the magical real, the use of history and the appearance of ghosts is a common trend in magical realism and its very used by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In the end, Like Water for Chocolate is a good representation of magic realism and certainly the best intent to transfer the style to the movies; even so, due to the fact that magic realism is a very literary style, the sense of it is undermined by the strong romantic factor of the movie. Still Araus and Lauras experiment ends in a success as they manage to communicate to the viewer through image, in a great manner, the pure feeling of a magic realistic work.