Chico & Rita
3/4
Starring (voices): Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona, Mario Guerra, Lenny Mandel
NR (contains Sexuality and Nudity--I'd give it a PG-13, but the MPAA would give it an R)
"Chico & Rita" is a love letter to jazz and romance. Decades ago, we had actual musicians and singers, not dolled up models doing suggestive choreography and lip synching to mechanized music. This is about that kind of music, where creativity and talent meant much more than they do today.
Chico (Ona) is the best piano player in the world, or at least that's what his friend/agent Ramon says. He's hoping for a big break, and when he hears the beautiful Rita sing, and he knows that if he has her, they'll both go far. But Rita hates Chico, and only sings with him for the money. Surprise surprise, they win a competition, fall in love, and Rita is pegged by a big time producer named Ron (Mandel). She hits it big while Chico is left by the sidelines. Yet these two are destined to cross paths again.
The most striking thing about this movie is the animation. It's vividly drawn, an almost art deco style. It's fluid and intoxicating, and unlike anything you've ever seen. Under the circumstances, it suits the material better than Pixar or Disney ever could. It's so beautiful that it's worth the price of admission just to see and soak in.
The plot is nothing special; it's a traditional rise and fall of stardom story with a slightly more cynical bent. The three directors, Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando tell the story with more specificity and anger than a traditional Hollywood movie about the same subject. Everyone ends up betraying or using someone else for their own gain, no matter how close they were in the beginning. But the filmmakers are skilled enough that they do this without altering the tone.
The voice acting is also good, but there's a problem: Chico and Rita don't generate much heat. The romance is rushed through in the germination stage, which is incredibly crucial. Fortunately, however, the filmmakers focus more on the trials and tribulations of stardom. I cared about the characters so I was interested to see where it ended up. Did I care with my heart? Not really.
"Chico & Rita" is also slow-moving and overlong. The latter is due to the needs of the story, but slow movies shouldn't feel slow. There are a few fairly obvious plotholes and some of the plot elements (particularly in the beginning) aren't handled particularly well.
Yet, I recommend the movie. The animation is so dazzling and after you've seen it, it will be a good way to cure insomnia pleasantly.
Starring (voices): Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona, Mario Guerra, Lenny Mandel
NR (contains Sexuality and Nudity--I'd give it a PG-13, but the MPAA would give it an R)
"Chico & Rita" is a love letter to jazz and romance. Decades ago, we had actual musicians and singers, not dolled up models doing suggestive choreography and lip synching to mechanized music. This is about that kind of music, where creativity and talent meant much more than they do today.
Chico (Ona) is the best piano player in the world, or at least that's what his friend/agent Ramon says. He's hoping for a big break, and when he hears the beautiful Rita sing, and he knows that if he has her, they'll both go far. But Rita hates Chico, and only sings with him for the money. Surprise surprise, they win a competition, fall in love, and Rita is pegged by a big time producer named Ron (Mandel). She hits it big while Chico is left by the sidelines. Yet these two are destined to cross paths again.
The most striking thing about this movie is the animation. It's vividly drawn, an almost art deco style. It's fluid and intoxicating, and unlike anything you've ever seen. Under the circumstances, it suits the material better than Pixar or Disney ever could. It's so beautiful that it's worth the price of admission just to see and soak in.
The plot is nothing special; it's a traditional rise and fall of stardom story with a slightly more cynical bent. The three directors, Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando tell the story with more specificity and anger than a traditional Hollywood movie about the same subject. Everyone ends up betraying or using someone else for their own gain, no matter how close they were in the beginning. But the filmmakers are skilled enough that they do this without altering the tone.
The voice acting is also good, but there's a problem: Chico and Rita don't generate much heat. The romance is rushed through in the germination stage, which is incredibly crucial. Fortunately, however, the filmmakers focus more on the trials and tribulations of stardom. I cared about the characters so I was interested to see where it ended up. Did I care with my heart? Not really.
"Chico & Rita" is also slow-moving and overlong. The latter is due to the needs of the story, but slow movies shouldn't feel slow. There are a few fairly obvious plotholes and some of the plot elements (particularly in the beginning) aren't handled particularly well.
Yet, I recommend the movie. The animation is so dazzling and after you've seen it, it will be a good way to cure insomnia pleasantly.
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