Chico & Rita

Chico and Rita is, in many ways, an animated Buena Vista Social Club with added romance and a dash of Captain Corelli's Mandolin (the book, not the film - there's a crucial difference that has echoes here).

Chico is a piano player, Rita is a singer. They meet and fall in love, despite complications, in Havana and then proceed to lose and find each other again across many decades and two continents as events and their own mistakes intervene.

Despite the scale, it never feels epic, but a personal and often quite initimate film, helped by some beautiful handr-drawn animation. This a gently, romantic film whose characters feel more human and fallible, rather than heroic. That said, there's enough action in the story to keep you entertained, and if that fails there's always the music.

Overall - 7.5/10 An animated film that makes a refreshing change from talking animals/toys/aliens, etc... A very human tale, lovingly drawn and told.