Tortilla Soup

Tortilla soup is all about family and food (dinner) and how each really draws inspiration from the other. The food is the hub from which the drama, and the laughs, turn.

Three daughters, each at different phases of their lives, are torn between their home lives ruled by their stern but loving father and the outside world. Dad, a chef, spoils them with some of the best nuevo spanish cuisine any latina daughter could ever possibly hope for, and has instilled in each an appreciation of food, and life. Dad is single, realizes he is about to lose the core of his family one by one and food is all he has, or so he thinks. Just when you think he'll be alone to cook for himself, surprises come in spades. And, as always, it's the food that draws them all back.

Well, well, it's hard to describe this film. Sometimes you always feel good when you're watching a film. I don't know exactly the reason. I just know that in some occasions you fell not so good because of the events that occur in one film. Here it's about feeling good.

It's very comforting to see Hector Elizondo here. I have always liked him. And I have never thought of his acting qualities, or evaluated him as an actor, I just have always had fun watching him on screen. This movie is no exception. I gotta give him the fact that he actually looks like a cook (chef). He actually seems to enjoy the meals he prepares daily. And also seems his family, people who love him. And there wouldn't be much a film without this love.

Martin's (Elizondo) three daughters are the center of the film, of course, including their dad. Tamara Bello is beautiful. It's the first time I see her in a movie, but there's such charm in her face, and she makes Maribel the kind of girl some teenagers may identify with.

Leticia (Peña) is also some kind of misteryous, but understandable. We get her situation, and maybe know there's no way out. But we are also by her side, when she has the time to improve. She has kept his feelings for too long, as if she was obliged to, and know she's desperate to let them go.

Carmen (Obradors) might be the opposite. She has let her feelings go, but has kept some of them inside also. It is like she knows she must take some decisions, and she takes them, only she may not be so sure, she may just think she is.

The rest of the actors are perfect choices, and make each of the characters they play another part of this charming film.

I'm hungry...

This has a wonderful plot. The father of grown daughters suffers the generational clash and cultural clash of old vs. new. This is an hispanic (but English language)remake of the Chinese film "Eat Drink, Man, Women". Both show the writing credits of Ang Lee. This falls far short of the original.

I saw "Eat, Drink..." a few years ago. Although, my wife tends to dislike subtitled movies, she tolerated this one for me. We both loved it. It was well written, directed and acted. "Tortilla Soup" is an ok movie, but failed to keep my attention in the same way that "Eat, Drink..." did. The acting was OK. The direction seemed ok as well. I can't put my finger on why, exactly, but this movie just isn't as good.

Unless you absolutely refuse to view subtitled movies, definitely forego this in favor of "Eat, Drink, Man, Women".

"Tortilla Soup" is certainly worth watching, even if you have already seen "Eat Drink Man Woman," but I would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn't seen the original version. I kept making comparisons throughout the whole movie. Ang Lee's characters just seemed more genuine, the food more mouthwatering, & the story more believable. I wonder if I'd feel the same if I had seen "Tortilla Soup" first...

Better than the ordinary Hollywood movie, this family comedy does a very nice job of presenting a variety of characters in the throes of pursuing their own version of the American Dream. That the family is Mexican-American adds a welcome difference. The camera loves the food being prepared, the Latin-flavored music score enlivens the proceedings, and the acting is quite serviceable. Jacqueline Obrador and Elizabeth Pena shine as the older daughters in the family, the always-reliable Hector Elizondo is fine in a rare leading role. Of greatest interest, however, may be Raquel Welch, playing her age and her ethnicity for the first time in my memory. It is her role, not her performance, that mars the movie. She is a caricature of an older-middle-aged unattached woman, the butt of unkind jokes. And it is the unwitting bias toward the older woman character that undermines the otherwise upbeat, happy ending intended. Still, this one's worth the cost of a rental. Not great art but at least it doesn't insult the viewers' intelligence.