Simply irresistible (1999)
‘Simple Irresistible’ is a film about Amanda, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. She gets magical help from a crab. (Yes, a crab). Amanda is a chef whose small restaurant is slowly falling apart. She has inherited it from her mother, but she doesn’t have her mother’s trust. She uses her mother’s recipes and customs and thus fails to keep up with modern expectations.
The crab plays matchmaker and sets him up with a man, Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery), a department store manager who plans to open a new restaurant. They fall in love.
When Tom discovers that there is magic at work in the relationship, he believes that Amanda is a witch and wants nothing to do with her. One thing leads to another and Amanda ends up cooking at Tom’s restaurant on opening night.
How will these two overcome their personal doubts and fears, and end up together?
Chocolate (2000)
In ‘Chocolate’ witchcraft is simply implied. The viewer understands that Vianne (Juliette Binoche), the new chocolatier in a small French town, is a witch, because her chocolate has magical properties.
She begins to improve the lives of the villagers from the moment she moves in with her daughter. The town is very conservative and most of the villagers are horrified both by the recklessness of the newcomers and by the magic and decadence they introduce into the lives of the villagers.
‘Chocolat’ not only touches on Vianne’s love life, but talks about the love of parents and children, friends and long-married couples. In addition, he talks about how prejudice and xenophobia can lead to life-threatening situations in small, close-knit communities.
That said, ‘Chocolat’ is a romantic, warm and generally charming film.
woman on top (2000)
‘Woman on Top’ is another movie about the magic of food. In this, Isabella (Penélope Cruz) is a great cook, and she opens a restaurant in Salvador with Toninho (Murilo Benício), her husband. He cheats on her and she runs away to America to live with a friend of hers, Monica (Harold Perrineau). Isabella’s cooking inspired a television producer to create a cooking show for her, ‘Passion Food’.
Back in Salvador, Toninho’s restaurant collapses without Isabella’s cooking. In his despair, Toninho curses Yemanja, the goddess of love and the seas. Yemanjá responds by keeping the fish away from the sea around the town, so that the local fishermen do not fish.
Toninho chases after Isabella to win her back, but Isabella in turn has asked Yemanja to harden her heart against love, a request Yemanja answered. Since Isabella can’t feel anything now, all of Toninho’s efforts to get her back are unsuccessful. On top of that, Isabella’s show turns out to be a huge success.
How will Toninho get his Isabella back? Will Isabella ever feel anything again? Will Yemanjá forgive her?
The film ends in a very sensual and romantic scene where Toninho and Isabella cook together.
Like water for Chocolate (1992)
‘Like Water for Chocolate’ probably influenced ‘Simple Irresistible’, ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Woman on Top’.
‘Like water for chocolate’ tells the story of a Mexican family. The family has a tradition that the youngest daughter stays single and takes care of her parents. In the story the youngest is Tita, who loves Pedro. They can’t get married, so Pedro marries his sister to be close to Tita.
When Tita cooks, all of her feelings are infused into the food and the story takes some surprising turns. Some of the twists are hilarious, some are sad, and some are horrible.
‘Like Water for Chocolate’ is a traditional Latin American magical realism film, which in my opinion makes it a fascinating fairy tale full of unexpected twists, one of which is the ending.
If you choose to watch a food magic movie for Halloween, be sure to pack some really nice treats or a nice dinner that you and your guests can enjoy during or after the movie. because these movies will whet your appetite.