Anita's Last Cha-Cha

In this endearing film, three pre-teens interact with one another and with the adults they're closes to in ways familiar enough, with one exception. The unfamiliar exception is that one of the kids, a 12-year- old girl, falls in love with an adult woman, who in turn has more age- appropriate involvements.

But it's hard to view the movie as being about that one unusual relationship, because there are many subplots, all to some degree intertwined. The basic impression is of a close-knit social group in which all kinds of things are happening among the various members.

There's not a scene in the movie that fails to be emotionally absorbing or fun to watch or both. The child actors are magnificent in their charming, innocent-on-the-verge-of-naughty roles. The same goes for the adults.

It's a witty, engaging film, very original and very well put together, with very high production values.