Alfonso Arau Incháustegui (born 11 January 1932) is a Mexican filmmaker, actor, and singer. He worked as an actor and director in both Mexican and Hollywood productions for over 40 years, before his international breakthrough with the 1992 film Like Water for Chocolate, based on his wife Laura Esquivel's novel of the same name. His other films include A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Picking Up the Pieces (2000), The Magnificent Ambersons (2002), and Zapata: El sueño del héroe (2004). He is a five-time Ariel Award winner, including Best Director for Like Water for Chocolate, and a BAFTA nominee.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 11, 1932 (94)
- Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
- Actor, director and producer
- 21 on MovieCove · 53 credits in all
What are Alfonso Arau's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 3 · Wry 0 · Earnest 12
Light 7 · Serious 7 · Dark 1
Grounded 5 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 3
Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 9 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 3
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0
Casual 11 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 3
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 2 of 4 analyzed roles.
- Allyas Paco in Scandalous John (1971)
- Allyas Juan in Romancing the Stone (1984)
- Shadowas El Guapo in ¡Three Amigos! (1986)
- Mentoras Ernesto Pino in Malacopa (2018)
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Alfonso Arau's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Alfonso Arau's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
53 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Malacopa(2018)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Coco(2017)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
I Heart Shakey(2012)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
L'imbroglio nel lenzuolo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
The Dead One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Zapata: The dream of a hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
A Painted House(2003)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
The Magnificent Ambersons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Picking Up the Pieces(2000)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Committed(2000)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
A Walk in the Clouds(1995)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Polvora En La Piel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Like Water for Chocolate(1992)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Camino largo a Tijuana (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
The Marked Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Stones for Ibarra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Walker(1987)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
¡Three Amigos!(1986)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
Round (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Chido Guan, el tacos de oro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
227(1985)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
Miami Vice(1984)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Romancing the Stone(1984)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Mojado Power (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
The Day Pedro Infante Died (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Used Cars(1980)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Tivoli (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Posse(1975)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Inspector Calzonzin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Nest of Virgins (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Run, Cougar, Run (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Aunt Isabel's Garden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
El águila descalza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Scandalous John(1971)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
El Topo(1970)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
The Useless Life of Pito Pérez (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Jóvenes de la Zona Rosa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Tres amigos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
The Wild Bunch(1969)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
El aviso inoportuno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Operación carambola (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Pedro Paramo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
There Are No Thieves in This Village (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
...und deine Liebe auch(1962)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)Los pistolocos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Trip to the Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Música en la noche (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
New faces (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Gunsmoke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Career shape
Star power in the 94th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 52 titles from 1951 to 2018; peak year 2017.
Film career
Peak 2017 · their film career is on the way up. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1968Screen debut· Operación carambola
- 2017Career best· Coco
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 1994.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film not in the English Language
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Foreign Film
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Alfonso Arau's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 19; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 35. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Alfonso Arau's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Alfonso Arau work with?
People who share at least 2 of Alfonso Arau's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jack Elam shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Jack ElamShared titles: Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004), Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Elam
Composers and cinematographers
- Ruy FolgueraShared titles: A Painted House (2003), Picking Up the Pieces (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Ruy Folguera
- Emmanuel LubezkiShared titles: A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Like Water for Chocolate (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Emmanuel Lubezki
- Maurice JarreShared titles: A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Posse (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Maurice Jarre
