Review of Chico & Rita (2010) by Eric O — 26 Jan 2012

In what must be considered a relatively weak year for animation, a breath of fresh air comes in the guise of Cuban import "Chico & Rita", a sensual romance between a jazz pianist and his female singing star that spans decades and continents. We first meet Chico as an old man, now shining shoes for a living in poverty-stricken Cuba. Through his wistful reminiscing, we learn of his past as the best piano player in the country and how he came to meet and fall in love with the gorgeous Rita. Their love affair is often a bumpy one, especially as it navigates from small island cabanas to New York night clubs to Hollywood screens to Paris concert halls. The story is solid and moves along quite briskly, but with decades of plot crammed into less than 90 minutes, I was actually left wishing that filmmakers Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal had taken a bit more time with it.

It's a lovely little movie nonetheless, spiced with vibrant colours and sultry latin rhythms (courtesy Cuban bandleader Bebo Valdes). I must admit I've never been a huge fan of the rotoscoping animation technique that's employed here, but my affinity for good jazz music more than compensates.