Alfonso Arau
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Connections, in both directions
Take Footloose and Like Water for Chocolate , steep the combo in a heaping helping of corn syrup, and you’ll come out with the sticky, sickly-sweet romantic cautionary tale Chocolat.
"Chocolat" is a subdued food-for-the-soul picture on the order of "Like Water for Chocolate" (1992), with a dash of Johnny Depp's effortless charisma added to the recipe.
Though Chocolat presents its title treats as "sinfully scrumptious" -- the same sort of passionate treats as Big Night and Like Water For Chocolate -- Hallstrom never quite conveys the right amount of desire.
Variations on the theme have found their way into a broad assortment of popular films, from "The Sound of Music" and "The Piano" to the Oscar-winning "Antonia's Line" to such classics as "Like Water for Chocolate" and "Babette's Feast," in which the forbidden fruit of the flesh is given a gastronomical dimension.
But these performances are simply not enough to deliver the movie to the level of "Like Water for Chocolate," "Babette's Feast" and other great movies about the magical connection between the gastronomic and the romantic or spiritual.
This may sound like a one-joke movie, but it benefits from the witty directing of newcomer Wes Anderson and slyly understated acting by several highly promising talents - plus some who've shown their abilities in the past, including James Caan, and Lumi Cavazos of "Like Water for Chocolate" fame.
Ratatouille is the delicacy you’ve been waiting for on par with expert cooking movies such as Like Water for Chocolate or Babette’s Feast .
Amores Perros (2000)
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
influenced by Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
Visuals
Now, if Iñárritu could imitate the lyrical beauty and pace of Like Water For Chocolate to develop his characters more, and if he could control his frenzied camerawork more like Scorsese does in his best work, we could hail the coming of a Mexican filmmaker who will stand among the greats.
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (A Little Princess, Like Water for Chocolate) tightly composed color palette captures the landscapes agony, while Costume Designer Colleen Atwoods period garb will probably wrestle one of a few technical nominations the film rightfully merits.