Chico and Rita by Chris Taylor

Cuban jazz still seems to hold a place in many music lovers’ hearts. Buena Vista Social Club are still riding high and Cuba’s influence on the world of jazz is undeniable. Fernando Trueba, who previously directed the documentary on Cuban musician Bebo Valdes, is well versed on the topic and so is able to put his own musical spin on the romance genre. We’ve all seen romances based around music: High Fidelity, Singin’ In The Rain and so on, but there’s something electric about a romance centred around jazz. Within seconds, you are able to flick between different emotions in one song and, just like the relationship between Chico and Rita throughout the film, it remains captivating until the end.
The script is not fantastic. It’s very predictable, unless you haven’t seen many romance films which I doubt is many people, and flows exactly how you would expect it to. But, just like High Fidelity, it’s the love of music that drives this film. The soundtrack is perfectly done so as to accompany the emotions of the two characters. A heartfelt ballad after a disagreement between the two or an intense samba when emotions are running high.
The animation too is something to note here. Mixing together a hand inked style with CG in the more actiony scenes, it manages to make these characters seem human whilst also using the ability to manipulate the colours in subtle ways to convey deep emotions. The streets of Havana look lush and rife with activity, whereas wintery New York, accompanied by the separation of Chico and Rita, looks cold and almost emotionless.
A tale of love, loss and betrayal it pretty much follows the romance book to the letter, but the gorgeous art style and the prevalent use of Cuban jazz adds to what would have otherwise been quite a tepid story.

4/5