Synopsis

In early 20th-century Mexico, Tita falls deeply in love with Pedro, but family tradition forces her to remain unmarried and care for her domineering mother. When Pedro marries Tita's sister instead, Tita channels her suppressed emotions into her cooking, causing everyone who eats her dishes to experience the feelings she cannot openly express.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is adapted from Laura Esquivel's 1989 novel, with Esquivel also writing the screenplay.

• The original Spanish title, "Como agua para chocolate," refers to water heated to the point used for preparing hot chocolate. In Mexican usage, the phrase also suggests being intensely emotional or close to boiling over.

• Produced with approximately $2 million in government loans, the film was reported as the most expensive Mexican production made up to that time.

• It won 10 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture, at Mexico's equivalent of the Academy Awards.

• The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and became the highest-grossing foreign-language release in the United States at the time.

• Mexico selected it as its entry for the 65th Academy Awards, although it was not included among the eventual nominees.