Chico & Rita

The story of "Chico and Rita" is told with a big wink towards the "Buena Vista social club" and I must admit that the end is really moving. However two people who spend 60 years to come to the conclusion that they can't live without each other stretches the probability of the story a bit too much.

The animation however is very well done. Originally mainly used in films for kids, in the first decade of the new century animation was more and more used is films for grown ups. In this respect "Chico and Rita" was preceded by films like "Les triplettes de Belleville" (2003, Sylvian Chomet), "Persepolis" (2007, Marjane Satrapi) and "Waltz with Bashir" (2008, Ari Folman).

From the character of Gollum in "The lord of the rings" (2001 - 2003, Peter Jackson) I knew that at the basis of computer generated images (CGI) there is sometimes real human acting. In the case of Gollum a real actor played this character dressed in a suit full of sensors. Based on the measurements thus generated the computer made the images we see in the film. What I never knew was that "Chico and Rita" was made according to more or less the same procedure. Actors played the part of Chico and Rita, after which artists used these images to make the drawings. Purpose of this procedure was to make facial expressions as true to nature as possible.

Chico and Rita is a nice little film with some great music, animation that really brings out all of the vivid colors, and atmosphere that takes you into it's setting. It all blends it in so seamlessly. It's main problem? A weak screenplay that is filled with predictable plot points and turns. It never rises to become anything special, despite some great stand-alone scenes. Still, recommended for the great blend of music and what style it has! The voice-over performances are quite effective, and it isn't hard to see the passion put into it. It's also quite refreshing to see an animated film in Spanish, and definitely for one to get an Oscar nomination. But it doesn't hold a candle to Rango, which will deservedly win the Oscar.

Chico & Rita is a sublime and highly original animated film. It is a very adult film with some animated adult situations. Set in Cuba just before and the years after the revolution, it tells the story of Chico, a talented jazz pianist and Rita, a beautiful singer. Through the story of this couple's turbulent love affair over these years, where Rita finds fame and fortune in US and Chico goes through some hard times, we also get a brief history of both Cuba and jazz music. The animation is wonderfully evocative and colorful and as for the music; well if you are a fan of jazz or Latin American music you are going to fall in love with this movie. Highly recommended.

Not the most ground-breaking of plots - but it sure is pretty. The cityscapes in particular are beautiful and the music is well-represented. It's very atmospheric and although the ending feels quite old fashioned the narrative is woven into history with admirable authenticity.

The second foreign nominee for the Academy Awards' Best Animated Feature in 2011, there has actually been buzz about this one since last year's Oscars (it debuted at Telluride in 2010 and also played at Toronto, but is not seeing a commercial release in the U.S. until February of 2012; it already saw a release in most European countries in late 2010 or 2011). That buzz is, thankfully, quite deserved, because this one is just wonderful. A simple story, sure, but a touching one about a young man and woman in Havana who begin a romance in 1948. They are musicians and get together through their art, but unfortunately petty jealousies keep getting in the way of their love. After initial success, Rita is swept off to New York City to become famous without Chico. He follows a few years later and finds his own fame, but the two seem destined to remain separate. The animation, like the story, is quite simple but really beautiful. It kind of reminds me of Waltz with Bashir, although it's not rotoscoped - at least not as extensively as Waltz with Bashir was. Rita, I must say, is the sexiest animated character since Jessica Rabbit - and she's not nearly so shy. It's kind of funny, but on account of this film, the Best Animated Feature category has far more nudity in it than all nine of the Best Picture nominees. Of course, as the characters are Cuban musicians, there's a ton of wonderful music throughout. I found the film deeply touching, and it brought me to tears at the end. This is far and away the best film among the four I've seen in its Oscar category this year (and I somehow doubt that Puss in Boots will eventually blow it out of the water!). Highly recommended.