MovieChat Forums > Como agua para chocolate (1993) Discussion > Was it just me, or...

Was it just me, or...

posted 15 years ago by keylimepie5
33 replies | jump to latest

Was anyone else just angry after watching this movie? I hate Tita for what she did. I mean, I know she loved Pedro first, but after he got married, she should have known to stay away from him. It's just wrong. BTW, that whole marrying your sister to get close to you from Pedro is BS too. I think if he truly loved her, they would have eloped or told Tita's mother to get stuffed and marry her anyway. They're both a little stupid and in that respect deserve each other. And on top of that, she had to string the nice British doctor along and lie to him and herself about marrying him only to break the sad news to him only a week before the wedding. How cruel is that? He is innocent and didn't need that to happen to him. Pedro was a weakling who couldn't find a way to be with the woman he supposedly loves (I don't think he ever really did love her so much as lust after her.). And as for Tita, I understand that she had a hard life and didn't have a lot, but she did not think about how her actions negatively affected others or even care and showed no self respect when she just let herself go and commit adultery with Pedro. That's just me, though. Sorry if this came off as heated, but that's just how I feel.
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[–] deathmatch1 15 years ago

No it wasn't just you, I completely agree. The two main characters seemed completely self-centered, with complete disregard for the effect of their actions on others. They seemed to use the mother's strict adherence to the no-marriage custom as justification to act like selfish brats. At the end of the film I have to say that I was happy that they died!

[–] keylimepie5 15 years ago

Thank you! And what really makes me sad is that the rest of the world might have seen this and thought that this may be the reckless way all Mexicans choose to live their lives. I'm sure not everyone thought that, but there are people ignorant enough to stereotype.

And to think, Mexicans, Latinos, and those of that descent in general don't get a lot of opportunity to tell the story of their people or homelands, and this is the kind of movie along with Chasing Papi and Beverly Hills Chihuahua we're wasting time, resources, and money on? Btw, I know it’s not just Latinos who make and are in crappy movies, I just seem to find a lot. We need to see more movies of people who are decent and just trying to really live their lives and maybe even do some good in this world. I honestly think that's what made me angry more than anything. When I want to see a serious movie, I'll stick to ones like Walkout.

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[–] Suzy_Creamcheese 15 years ago

but if Tita and Pedro had just rebeled against Elena and got married their wouldn't have been a story line..

[–] keylimepie5 15 years ago

I think there could have been. I'm sure there are plenty of ways a good writer can make a good romantic story out of eloping and then their life later as a married couple and if they ever try to get back in contact with their families. I just think that even if the story had been shorter, it would have been better to be honest.
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[–] MydnightRose 14 years ago

I was never mad at Tita nor Pedro, well perhaps Pedro. Tita tried to resist him and did for years. The first time they had sex he initiated it and she just went along. I dont hate them nor do I feel sorry for them. I do feel sorry for her sister who just got the bad end of the deal, she grew ugly, fat, smelled bad and she didnt even do anything wrong.

"... have mercy, for I've been bleeding a long time now"-Michael Jackson

[–] keylimepie5 14 years ago

Yeah, she did hold out for a while, but in the end, I felt like what she did was selfish, what with sleeping with a married man. Yes, he startes it, but it would have taken a split second for her to say no again. But then her sister did marry Pedro knowing full well how Tita felt. That's just the way I see it.

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[–] kitkat8541 14 years ago

I think that what many people are forgetting about Latinos in general is their fierce loyalty to their families. For Mama Elena to tell Tita that she would never marry must not have been all that suprising for Tita, as it has been the tradition for generations to have the youngest daughter care for her mother until her death. As any proud Mexicana would do, she sucks it up, and does what is expected of her.... it goes without saying that the social and political climate of the time saught to revolutionize Mexico, and perhaps do away with some traditions that are out-dated. Tita is obviously a child of the revolution, as well as her sister, Gertrudis. I liked how the story showed that just because things are done a certain way, it does not necessarily make it right.
You may also be forgetting how the story illustrates an almost self-fulfilling prophecy. Mama Elena keeps a box full of memories and photos of a past-lover. She keeps the box locked with the key in a heart-shaped locket around her neck... it is obvious that Elena has dealt with a love that was forbidden and/or unrequited. She selfishly ensures that her own daughter would not be saved from this heartbreak. Her ghost even comes back to haunt Tita after she discovers her mother's secret, still doing everything in her power to keep Tita and Pedro apart. Then, used and jealous, Rosaura turns into another version of her mother, Elena. She wears her hair the same and adopts the same cruel style of giving orders to Tita.
I don't think it is the intention of any movie to win or lose approval based on whether or not the audience liked or disliked a character or their actions within the story. I think it is always an effort to get people to look at things in a way that maybe they wouldn't have before. The story is a fairy tale. No one bats an eye when Cinderella marries the prince after dancing with him once and fitting into her glass slipper. He meets her, falls in love with her after one look, and does ANYTHING to find her and be with her. It's the same for Tita and Pedro, except we have to see all the messiness and politics that often go along with love.

[–] cookiela2001 8 years ago

I do feel sorry for her sister who just got the bad end of the deal...she didn't even do anything wrong.

Sure...she just knowingly married the love of her sister's life, that's all, then wanted to turn her own daughter into a slave.

Tw@t.
.

[–] Jane_Claire 13 years ago

but if Tita and Pedro had just rebeled against Elena and got married their wouldn't have been a story line..

Exactly!

[–] magdalene_1024 10 years ago

I think you underestimate a lot of people's reasoning. I didn't watch this movie and think, "That's how all Mexicans live." Love triangles happen all over the world. Heck, one of the most famous love triangles of the modern age happened to about the most White Anglo-Saxon Protestant family you can think of--the British Royals with Charles, Camilla, and Diana. (And if you think about it, that love triangle came about almost the same way the movie one did--Charles was forbidden from marrying the woman he actually loved, so he married somebody else, and everybody's life wound up an emotional hell for it.)

And that's honestly how I saw this movie--a love triangle that simply happened to use an historical Mexican setting. (And personally, I found myself reading about the Mexican politics of the time period that the movie was set against, so I learned something as a result.)

[–] keylimepie5 14 years ago

He raped her? I must have missed that. I know I didn't read the book, I just saw the movie. It could have been edited or I have a bad memory.

But either way, it's pretty sad that this movie is so overrated. And that sounds like a nice class. I wonder what major you have to have to be able to get a class like that. I might take a British Literature class for funsies, but there aren't a lot of "fun" classes offered as electives at Purdue.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] keylimepie5 14 years ago

Ah, well, that explains it for me, thank you. Agreed, end rants.

I'm going for Management Information Systems, but I need to cool down and do something so I don't feel like I'm in a rut. I tried taking a forensics class because at one point I wanted to be a CSI, but that wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. Brit Lit I could maybe find interesting. But I don't know if I'd be able to even take that class.

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[–] Savannah416 14 years ago

How interesting that he raped her. I think this goes to an age-old, horrifying stereotype that if two people are secretly in love, rape is seen more as a crime of passion. The guy can't "help himself"-- he's so overcome with passion for the woman that he has no thought but to devour her.

It's awful, misogynistic, and incredibly misleading. Not to mention idiotic.

[–] jingizu_z 11 years ago

He didn't rape her! Wtf? Where did people get THAT idea from? I've read the book and seen the movie and loved it.

As usual, people ignore the time period the movie is set in, and the cultural implications thereof.

[–] clouseau-4 14 years ago

Another way of looking at it is that all the tragedies and broken hearts were caused by Tita's mother's insistence on continuing that stupid and cruel family tradition.

If her mother had been reasonable, Tita would have married Pedro, the nice doctor would have find a good wife, Tita's sister could have married someone else, etc.

It was that once bad act that set the entire chain in motion, but yes Tita and Pedro were foolish and selfish, but so was everyone else, with a few exceptions (the doctor for instance)

It's spelled Raymond Luxury Yacht, but it's pronounced 'Throat-Warbler Mangrove'

[–] keylimepie5 14 years ago

I agree, everyone in this movie was really foolish. And I agree that if the mother hadn't been crazy, the whole movie would have been different. I feel, though, that since they were the main characters and the focus of the story that I'm going to talk about them.

I do have to say that I feel you're right about the mother. But she was not responsible for Tita and Pedro's actions. They were adults, really, but they chose to act like children. When things don't go your way, what do you do? Deal with it. In my opinion, that's the real, adult, and responsible thing to do even when others don't.

Saying something like "Well, everyone was doing it!" sounds just a bit juvenile to me. And they weren't. They were at least teenagers but even teenagers are able to make good decisions despite being a product of one's environment.

Right. Now I will have to tell an administrator to delete your account, seeing as your signature is quite silly.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Savannah416 14 years ago

I completely understand your POV, but as someone who grew with a domineering mother, I can attest to how demobilizing it can be. You completely lose your sense of self, you make decisions not because they're smart, but because you simply want to be LOVED. And the dependency you develop with your abuser is one that makes it near impossible to get away. They make you feel so horrible about yourself that you come to believe no one will love you, so it's better to be loved by an abuser than by no one at all.

No one was there to protect Tita from her mother, so she grew up not knowing what it was like to stand up for yourself. She stayed chained to her mother and made foolish decisions because she was never taught to think for herself.

I understand that it comes across as selfish, but mostly it's fear that pushed Tita to stay and do the things she did.

[–] TwyliteCreature 14 years ago

Yes I totally agree with the first poster. The characters, though in very tough situations, seem to make such bad choices. Pedro, though thinking some sort of ultimate sacrifice marrying Tita's sister just to be near her, is so very selfish in his love. Screwing up Tita's sister's life forever, and Tita's as well. Fighting against unjust traditions is one thing, but adultery is another, man. And in the end, you're supposed to be happy that they're finally together? Watching a montage of all their adulterous moments together, well woo hoo. Tita does admit to her mother's ghost that she's as damned as her mother is, so she does admit what she does is not right, but the movie still tries to make us feel happy for her and Pedro, when really in the end, it is not right.

[–] TwyliteCreature 14 years ago

Just to add, this movie did have some very nice aspects to it, and you do like Tita's character for the most part. But despite all the good, the off points left me frustrated with the film

[–] chompchompchomper 13 years ago

i watched this movie because ive been watching food themed movies lately and this one continually popped up as peoples favorite on forums... I personally hated this movie which is rare because i like/love most movies. I thought pedro was a huge pansy and tita had no morals. Both of them were incredibly selfish. Your post is spot on. Although i do admit, the scene where getrudis set the bathroom on fire from her body heat and ran around naked made me laugh. Other than that, i did not care at all for the rest of the movie. The ending scene made me clap in approval... the one with the matches...

[–] whoiamnow 13 years ago

You are looking at this through the eyes of modern culture. In those days, your options of a home and money were severely limited by your family. It's not like you could run away and get a job at McDonalds.

Further, there was a greater since of responsibility and duty that we don't understand.

[–] altamont-1 13 years ago

I thought that Pedro was a very despicable character. We can sympathize with Tita to an extent because of her cruel upbringing, but Pedro had no such excuse.

I did like the food related scenes in the movie though

The action is morally justifiable though technically criminal

[–] thelostkelpie 13 years ago

I liked the film, but I did think to myself "I can't see this as a true love story..."

Pedro and Tita looked to have been dating for a while when he proposed to her. I do think they were in love. It was cruel for Tita's mother to insist that Tita could not marry Pedro, but even more cruel to suggest he marry Rosaura instead. If Pedro had walked away and out of Tita's life after that point, I think they could have both moved on. They would have outgrown that first love. By Pedro marrying Rosaura so that he could be near to Tita, he perpetuated it. It dragged everything out because they were forever interwined and destroyed everything around them.

Rosaura I felt bad for because I suppose she hoped initially that Pedro must like her a little to choose her when he couldn't have Tita, even if not as much. She might have hoped to win him over. She had an unhappy life and it made her bitter and I think Pedro was cruel to do that. I don't blame Tita for having feelings for Pedro or for her sister's death (which I think was unintentional magic) but I do think she could have shown more compassion for the pain they caused Rosaura. Some shred of recognition that Pedro marrying Rosaura to be close to her was an act of selfish cruelty her sister did not deserve. The poor woman's death was so undignified. She was hardly a villain.

I do still feel for Tita though. I want to slap her for not realising that Pedro was a bit of an arse and for not fully acknowledging that they were hurting her sister. I REALLY wanted to slap her for rejecting the doctor, who honestly was the better man. She was abused though. The mother's behaviour towards her was shocking. This probably contributed towards her placing Pedro on a pedestal. She was forbidden to fall in love and so she clung to her first taste of it. The poor girl was spoiled for love. Being denied her lover, then having him dangled in front of her for the rest of her life. If it had not been for her mother's attitude, then maybe she would have married Pedro and they could have been happy. If Pedro had let her go at the start instead of trying to keep her, then maybe her heart would have allowed her to marry John the doctor and been happy?

It was all just a mess, really.