The 8th Spanish Film Festival in Singapore is ending soon. See if you can catch Chico & Rita (2010) at The Arts House today. Admission is free on a first come basis.
Chico & Rita is a Spanish animated feature-length film. The first that was nominated for the Oscar. The artwork is beautiful. Each frame could well be made into a wall painting. The soundtrack throughout the film is equally beautiful, especially for the jazz music lover. Set in Cuba, a pianist called Chico meets a singer called Rita. And they have fallen in love. However, circumstances seem to often get into their way. Chico & Rita is a journey of love and music from Cuba’s Havana to New York and Las Vegas in a span of five decades. Due to the rich history behind Chico & Rita and the fact that many of Havana’s pre-revolutionary buildings had decayed, the filmmakers have looked into the photograph archive in order to recreate the era and the mood.
This story is rather dark. So is the mood. Perhaps it is the pain the gives forth such beautiful music and inspires such exquisite artwork.
