I read about
Chico & Rita some time ago and had planned to watch it if and when it came around to my town. Seeing it on the film fest lineup, I was quick to include it to my schedule. This Spanish film is an animated memory tale, focusing on Chico, now an elderly man, thinking back on his younger years in 1940s-50s Havana when he was a jazz musician. It was a time when jazz mixed successfully with Cuban and other Latin and African influences. Chico sees and hears the lovely and sensual Rita, and they start a musical as well as a romantic collaboration. After they win a music contest, Rita is signed to a lucrative contract that takes her to New York and Paris, leaving Chico behind. It is a typical tale of stardom dividing lovers..
Neither of them are able to reconcile their romance to their careers, and Rita goes on to be a star while Chico continues to be a working musician with momentary fame. The highlights of the film are its great soundtrack and the vivid, colorful depiction of Havana, along with name-dropping depictions of famous musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. While the animation is not always fluid, the storyline itself is a classic story of heartbreak. The romance between Chico and Rita comes full circle when Chico hears their old song on the radio and by chance discovers her again, giving us a fell-good yet bittersweet memory of the years lost between the two characters.
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