Film Review: Chico and Rita

19 November 2010 // Reviews (Film)

Skwigly

Animation Magazine

A love story sparks at a 1940’s Havana dance club. Chico, a talented jazz and salsa pianist, glances over at Rita, the beautiful singer on stage as she performs her lovely ballad, and falls in love instantly to the sweet sound of her voice. However, except for one perfect first night together, Chico, a very successful ladies’ man, and Rita, a part-time prostitute, never seem to get it right.

Time passes, a witness to their flickering romance. On and off again and again, Chico and Rita travel the world experiencing music, fame, loneliness, and love. Two events will shape the outcome of this impossible love story for better or worse: the ascent of jazz as a popular genre in the music industry, and the Cuban Revolution.

This acclaimed Spanish animated feature is co-directed by Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba and famous Catalan illustrator Javier Mariscal. ‘Chico & Rita’, Trueba’s first animated feature was also Mariscal’s first ever film, so the challenge seemed pretty daunting from the start. Even so, these two heavyweights of the Spanish entertainment industry managed to raise one of the biggest budgets ever for a European animated feature, with the involvement of several Spanish television networks, government assistance and production companies from all over the world.

Trueba filmed practically the entire film on location in Havana, while Mariscal designed all the artwork and visuals back in his studio in Barcelona. Later they teamed up and animated the film using digital rotoscoping, reminiscent of the 2001 animated masterpiece by Richard Linklater, ‘Waking Life’, traditional animation, and different CGI compositing techniques. The result are very well-crafted and original visuals that tastefully tell a doomed love story during some the most defining years in the history of Cuba, all while focusing solely on the bubbling music industry of the time and the undying love between the couple.

Besides the stunning imagery designed by Mariscal, the music of the film ends up carrying it to the finish line. The film features an original score by Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés mixed with iconic jazz and salsa sets from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Giillespie, Tito Puente, and Thelonious Monk, amongst others. The music alone might as well be enough for the audience to buy and sell what is at first glance a pretty simple love story, but one told in an unusually creative and sensitive way nonetheless. It is a story that lingers long after the film has ended, like any good song will do.

‘Chico & Rita’ is different kind of film that is the result of an astronomical effort (almost six years in the making, with hundreds of people involved). In this age of tired, formulaic, dumbed-down storytelling it is, in my opinion, a welcome break from the excess of photorealistic visuals we have endured lately.

Let us hope the film’s success, which includes taking home the prestigious Spanish Goya award for best film, encourages more Spanish investors to take chances in this sort of film project. It is quite refreshing to see something that is essentially different and risky, and I think taking that the risk alone makes the film very well deserving of all the praise it has received.

Items mentioned in this article:

Chico And Rita [DVD]

£4.60

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Chico And Rita [Blu-ray]

£7.10

Buy Now on Amazon