Review: Chico & Rita

Twenty years after Spanish director Fernando Trueba won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film for Belle Epoque, his new Chico & Ritais nominated -- this time in the Best Animated Feature category.

It's a gorgeous, fluid movie, filled with rich textures and a genuine sense of place, whether it's Havana, Paris, New York, or Hollywood. It's even grown-up and sexy, which is rare for cartoons. It's also a good jazz movie, depicting animated versions of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and other legends, back on stage as if for the first time.

It's also an epic romance, spanning years, but not necessarily a good one. Chico and Rita are mostly separated by their own mutual stubbornness, and it can get wearisome to root for characters like that.

Chico (voiced by Eman Xor Oña) is a great piano player in Havana, circa the late 1940s. He's great, but totally unknown. Out on the town one night, he and his best pal Ramón (voiced by Mario Guerra) spy an exemplary new singer, Rita (voiced by Limara Meneses), who is gorgeous besides. Chico is not only smitten, but also he is inspired to bring her into his act.

They spark in a grand romantic style, but due to a misunderstanding, Rita is soon out the door. Later, she gets an offer to go to New York; she wants to bring Chico, but another misunderstanding separates them again. Chico eventually makes it to New York and finds work in the local jazz scene, which brings him to Paris, while Rita goes to Hollywood to make movies.

Occasionally the two meet up again for a quick kiss, a quick roll in the hay, or a quick argument, and then they disappear again. There is also a strange, baseless betrayal that keeps them apart. The story is told in flashback from the present day. Will Chico ever find his true love again?

It's a bit hokey, but whenever this story stops for some music or for a particularly dazzling bit of animated wonder -- such as a dodgy car ride -- then Chico & Rita really soars. The animation looks a bit like some of the style invented for WakingLife, partly hand-drawn, with some computer aid to make it flow and feel a bit more dimensional. (Trueba worked with two co-directors: designer Javier Mariscal and animator Tono Errando.)

Eventually, the movie is a feast for animation lovers and music lovers alike. The music in this film ranges from hot Cuban jazz to more familiar American bebop, and ranges from heartbreaking to joyous. The animation seems inspired by the music, and often takes flight by itself. If the filmmakers had been similarly inspired by the story itself, they would have had a masterpiece.

Chico & Rita

*** out of ****

With (voices) Limara Meneses, Emar Xor Oña, Mario Guerra

Written by Fernando Trueba, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón

Directed by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando

Not Rated

Spanish, with English subtitles

94 minutes

February 17, 2012