Delicious UK - (05)May 2020

108 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

film + meal + wine

MOV I E N IGH T

COCO(2017)

WHAT’SIT ABOUT?

Whenhisfamilyforbid

himfromfollowinghis

dreamofmusical

stardomowingtoa mysterious

householdban,the12-year-old

Miguelrebels,endingupinthe

magicalandcolourfulLandofthe

Dead,accompaniedbyDante,his

comedysidekickdog.Oncethere,

Miguelhopestoconnectwithhis

hometownidol,one-timeguitar

legendErnestodela Cruz,who

hebelievescouldbehisgreat-

great-grandfather.First,though,

hemustcontendwithhisdead

relatives,whoareasanti-music

ashislivingones,forcinghimto

enlistthehelpofrogueishcharmer

Héctor – and he’s only got until sunrise...

WHYTHISMOVIE?

Ata timelikethis,youmaythinka family

moviethatdivesheadfirstintothetheme

ofdeathisn’ta goodidea– butwait!Coco

is a life-affirmingfilmdespitethat– even,

perhaps,becauseofit.Thefilmpivots

aroundthewellknownMexicanDíade

LosMuertos(DayoftheDead)andthe

less well known Mexican tradition of the

THE MOVIE

‘ofrenda’,a photographicshrinetolost

familymembers,whichkeepstheir

memoryalive.Ultimately,it’sa movie

aboutcherishingyourfamily.

If thatsoundsa bitworthy,fearnot–

Cocois a knockaboutcomedytoo,

completewithexcellentsongs,singing

anddancingskeletonpeopleandshoe-

wieldingmatriarchs.Thereareplottwists

andanabsorbingcentralmystery– oh,

and there’s lots of food, of course: pan

dulce(sweetpastries)onthedeskofthe

administratorintheLandoftheDead;

thetamales(steamedmeat/fishparcels

wrappedina corndough)madeby

Miguel’sgranny;thechurrosa returnee

triestosneakbackintotheLandof

theDead(eventhedeadgottaeat);

plus there’s tequila, naturally.

TRIVIA

• ThecolourfulhousesoftheLand
  oftheDeadwereinspiredbythose
  oftheMexicancityofGuanajuato,
  alsofamousforitsmummies.


• Intheguitarplayingscenes,
  thecharacters’fingeringmatches
  theactualchordsbeingplayed.


• Thefilmwasinproductionfor
  solong,theoriginalactorplaying
  Miguelhadtobe replaced because
  his voice broke.

THEQUOTETOQUOTE

MIGUEL:Thisisn’ta dream,then– you’re

allreallyoutthere.

TÍAVICTORIA:Youthoughtweweren’t?

MIGUEL:Well,I don’tknow– I thought

it mighthavebeenoneofthosemade-up

things adults tell kids. Like vitamins.

Rentorbuyit onNowTV,Amazonand

Disney+. Turn over for the meal and wine→ WORDS: LES DUNN. FILM IMAGE: REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

Chooseaneveningtomakeintoa bitofa familymoment,thenaddthreeingredients:an

Oscar-winningPixaranimationsetinMexico,a satisfyingbowlofsmokychipotle chicken

on your knee – and a good bottle to go with. Tequila chasers optional