Chico & Rita

Cast: Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona, Mario Guerra

Director: Tony Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba

Chico & Rita had a lot of factors rolled into one. It has elements of love, passion, friendship, patience, and betrayal all rolled into one animation feature. Its medium may be animation, but theirs is a timeless story that hopeless romantics would love. It’s not one of those over the top hopeless romantic films, but this is played out quite subtly, using music as a passage to their love. It’s a beautiful and moving, and quite heartbreaking in parts, as both leads are hard not to sympathize with.

Chico and Rita both met in a club, and like any hopeless romantic film, they fall in love at first sight. However, their story had obstacles from the start, forcing them to be apart. They enter various relationships, and their careers take them into new heights, but when they find each other, we see that their love never waned, not even once. It’s a story of timeless love played with beautiful pieces of music draped in the soft tones of animation. 

A factor that I enjoyed with this film is that it makes usage of flashbacks, and it’s something that animation never plays with. The whole film starts with a glimpse of Chico’s life, post-Rita. With the flashbacks alone, it gives off a sense of realism as we get to see the life of Chico flash before his eyes, as he thinks of his past during one night back in Cuba. As I've mentioned, the film has soft tones. The entire film was drawn using soft, non definitive curves, which gives off a more lifelike movement to the characters. They’re not portrayed as beautiful people, but as real people. With the style of animation used, it does give off a romantic, dramatic vibe, setting the atmosphere to the kind of story we’re in for. 

The plot is perfect for hopeless romantics, as it’s not sugar coated, yet not too dramatic that it looses its focus. Here are two people who are living different lives, and when they manage to find each other, everything else seems to disappear. It’s a timeless tale told with the beautiful backdrop of music. Music is the fuel to their souls, and with each step they take, music is an integral part of it. Music reunited them, and music separated them. The setting for the film was very fitting, as it was set when jazz was coming alive. The score for the film is very fitting for its story. 

As the film goes on, it can’t be helped but to be engulfed in their own story, cheering for them to eventually find each other, because they deserve their happy ending. Their career took them apart, people took them apart, and yet they’re willing to put all of that aside just to be together. Their story is like one of those rare tales you hear from people. As it goes on, it feels like they’re portrayed by real people.

Romanticism is a big factor for this, because it gives the story the heart that it has. The writing and the music were put well together, and it emphasized this romanticism. Even in the end you still cheer for them. Despite some plot holes, it’s very well put together. The animation, the story and the music all complimented each other, that even you can’t help but fall in love with them. 

While it may not employ the usual animated tactics, Chico & Rita manages to deliver a beautiful story of love encompassed through time and trials. It had beautiful music and detailed animation to accompany their story, making a film that romantics would like.