Tortilla Soup is a 2001 film that represents the genres of both comedy and melodrama. The story focuses on the father of the family, Martin Naranjo, a retired culinary talent who has lost his sense of taste and smell but continues to indulge his three daughters with delights of Mexican cuisine (Tortilla Soup). Martin has three daughters, who are different but united in love for their father and, simultaneously, their desire to fly away from under his wing. The sharp image of the relationship between the characters, family values at the dinner table, and light music in the Latin style create a sense of a vivid story in which the viewer is also present at the table and tries plot twists like dishes. This work describes the narration of this film, which is presented in a classic form without significant deviations from the plot.
The gathering at the table of the three daughters, their father, and other characters are milestones in the plot. At the table, dialogues take place, which for the most part are tense and dramatic until the middle of the film: they show many unsaid words from Carmen or a desire to fly out of Maribel’s home nest. Martin’s rather stern disposition hides his real feelings, which he manifests to a greater extent through the kitchen and cooking. Serving hot soup for the very first dinner, the father desires always to see his daughters on time. The thought that Carmen needs to be released to another city makes him proud, although, in reality, he is extraordinarily restrained and, for the second time, does not show a proper reaction to the announcement of his middle daughter. Very often, dinners are interrupted by the doorbell or phone calls.
Although his dishes are often praised by guests who only appear at the table once or twice in the entire film, his daughters increasingly notice flaws in his cooking, discussing undercooked meat or lack of ingredients in dishes. For Martin, recognition from his daughters is much more important than Andre or Hortense. In these discussions, the actual state of affairs is hidden, the spiritual interaction in the Naranjo family. The daughters are trying to get through to their father, while Martin shows care, pride, and love for them in the language of his dishes. However, he is deprived of the opportunity to taste his words, which is why he becomes secretive and laconic.
Life outside the table developed in its way, and shocks awaited each of the daughters, while the father, despite quarrels and emotional statements earlier, was always ready to receive them at his table again. Maribel could not share being with Andre right away, and it took time and the understanding she received when she returned to her father. Carmen was deceived and decided to return to her dream by giving up Barcelona. Even Letizia, who always echoed her father’s domestic customs and traditions better than other daughters, decided to take the step of marrying Orlando Castillo, who, by the way, also praised Martin’s turtle soup.
Announcements at the table also run like a red thread throughout the story. If Martin first has to face, fight or even ignore some of his daughters’ statements, then towards the end of the film, the principal announcement is made by himself: a marriage proposal to Yolanda. At this moment, the emotions and feelings of the daughters and the father are brought out; they are not afraid to share them even with many guests and with the reaction of Yolanda’s mother. At this moment, Carmen says “bravo” to her father, and Maribel is pleasantly surprised and smiles at him, to which Martin nods his head favorably in response. Such openness leads to a better understanding, recognition, and respect for the goals of each.
Martin finally acknowledges Carmen’s versions of the dishes, who venture into opening her restaurant. The story’s climax is the feast scene where Yolanda announces that she is expecting another daughter. The final stage at the table is no longer interrupted by calls and quarrels: credits follow immediately after the announcement.
Work Cited
Tortilla Soup. Directed by Maria Ripoll. Starz/Encore Entertainment, 2001.