CHICO & RITA. There would be no “La La Land” without it

You know the story of Chico & Rita very well. He’s a jazz pianist—a free spirit and a romantic. She’s an aspiring singer, blessed with extraordinary charm and genuine talent. They meet by chance. The hero notices the yellow dress worn by the woman who will become his great love. Despite their different temperaments, and through many twists, turns, and misunderstandings, they grow close. Over time, however, their demanding careers become the main obstacle to their relationship.

She’s discovered by an American producer and quickly rises to Hollywood stardom. He values artistic fulfillment over financial success. Their relationship is never fully cemented. Unfortunate circumstances prevent them from truly being together. One evening, already at the peak of her career, she walks into an intimate club where her former lover sits at the piano, performing a dazzling jazz improvisation with his band. They notice each other, and their charged glances make it clear: they both understand how much now separates them, but they are still bound by a powerful emotional connection. Soon after, a sentimental flashback reminds them of how close they once were. Life might have unfolded differently if they had stayed together.

Yes, this is La La Land. Damien Chazelle essentially copied the entire narrative skeleton of the Spanish animated film. He only changed the setting and the time period. Chico & Rita takes place in Cuba a few years before the revolution; La La Land is set in contemporary Los Angeles. Of course, the American director gave the characters new names, put different songs in their mouths, and replaced animation with live action. It’s as if this drastic formal shift was meant to cover everything Chazelle had “borrowed” from a film made six years earlier.

Calling it plagiarism may be too strong, but “striking similarity” fits perfectly. It doesn’t even lie in the use of similar components: the genre, the protagonists’ professions, the dynamic driving their relationship, the jazz-infused mood, or the props and costumes (such as the famous yellow dress). Any filmmaker could freely use those elements. But Chazelle transferred them almost one-to-one, replicating entire scenes and arranging them in the same order. In La La Land, he simply rewrote the story of Chico & Rita, giving their breakups and reunions similar causes and structuring the plot along the same narrative paths.

Comparing the two films strips Chazelle’s musical of its supposed originality and uniqueness. It’s fair to consider Chico & Rita and La La Land as cinematic twins. I’m aware that concepts like quotation, borrowing, and inspiration can be interpreted loosely, and proving copyright infringement can be difficult. But I believe Chazelle crossed a line of good taste with his film.

The film by the directing trio—Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, and Tono Errando—is steeped in nostalgia and the overwhelming sense of unfulfilled longing that haunts its characters. The main plot is interwoven with scenes of Chico, now an old man, recalling his youth and desperate pursuit of Rita. A warm color palette mirrors the turbulent emotions of the protagonists. Chico & Rita is a sensual, heavy film. It portrays a sun-drenched world whose inhabitants live at their own slow pace. The narrative rarely accelerates, but its measured rhythm and the repetition of certain motifs make it easy to be swept away by its spell. It’s a film about betrayal and disappointment, determination, and the ability to accept failure. About the twists of fate—but also about destiny.

It’s a pity that this little-known, though Oscar-nominated, animated film never had the chance to compete with the international hit marketed with the faces of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Few people ever stumbled upon Chico & Rita. If La La Land captivated you, Chico and Rita is a film made for you. The Spanish animation deserves credit for coming first, serving up to the creators of La La Land a ready-made recipe for a hit. I’ll even go so far as to suggest that without Chico and Rita, Chazelle’s film might never have existed—certainly not in the form that audiences came to love.