Chico & Rita

Chico, a pianist, and Rita, a singer, meet in Havana in 1948. They start working together, then fight, Rita goes to New York, and for thirty years the two keep losing and finding each other. The revolution, emigration, the record companies and America's colour line break the relationship somewhere new each time. Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal built it in hand-drawn animation, with the streets of Havana and New York of the period drawn with something close to documentary care. The music is the real character: the compositions and piano are by Bebo Valdés, and real figures such as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk appear on stage as drawings. It was nominated for the Oscar in animation rather than foreign language. Who it is for: viewers who like Latin jazz and animation made for adults. Who it is not for: anyone who regards animation as children's business.