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Like Water For Chocolate

As in the discussion of the film Big Fish the question again: with the term "magic realism" legitimized with its historical association with art and literature, why choose another label for such films? Especially with the success of and mass exposure and acceptance of the film Like Water For Chocolate, a timeless story of thwarted love told in symbol and metaphor, had, as such, all the magical realist details present: Tita, dealing with her grief in one scene, has been knitting a shawl that appears to go on forever when she appears with it -- a symbol of her grief that, though not overtly stated, obviously is a symbol of its seeming endlessness. In another scene, we have Tita's sister dying of intestinal gas (symbolic of her consternation regarding her fate?) and another sister riding off with her lover; the sister is on fire with her lust and for venturing out into the world.

 

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