Pearce 327 was only about three quarters full for the showing of the film "Como Agua Para Chocolate" Tuesday evening, but that was a "pretty good turn out" said organizer Cristen Vernon with a laugh. 

Vernon said that the Spanish department will be showing eleven films this semester. The film nights are primarily planned to help students in Spanish classes, which require attendance of at least one cultural event during the semester, but all students are welcome. 

"It's a fun way for them to learn a little about culture and history as well as to improve their Spanish," Vernon said. "We're also happy to give everyone on campus the opportunity to watch a film that they may not find in their local movie store." 

The Spanish department makes the final decision on what films will be shown, along with input from the Spanish Club and Sigma Delta Pi.  

"Students are currently learning about the Mexican Revolution in a couple of the classes that we offer, and this film fits well into that discussion because it takes place during that time," Vernon said. "It gives students a way to connect to the culture and history in a more visual way while they are studying a specific concept." 

"Como Agua Para Chocolate" was definitely a different experience for me being the first foreign language film I've watched. The plot is impossible in a Latin or Spanish culture where so much emphasis is placed upon family and tradition.

In the film, an overbearing mother forbids her youngest daughter to ever marry, saying that it is her duty to uphold the family tradition and care for her mother until the day she dies. A man falls in love with the young girl and marries her older sister to be near the girl. The movie tells the story of their love and the effect it has on the other family members, servants, and friends of the family. The man and young girl wind up together in the end, but he dies and she kills herself so she will not have to live without him. 

The film was confusing in parts and really required you to suspend your sense of reality to believe in the magic of Tita's cooking, but it was an interesting story. The characters  played their roles well for being a more over-the-top foreign film. 

Overall, it was an interesting experience, and I'm glad I gave the event a try, but probably not something I would be looking to repeat anytime soon.

By Megan Townsend