A Cat in Paris

It’s an uncommon crime thriller that makes room for whimsy, but A Cat in Paris, France’s recent Oscar-nominated animated feature, suffuses its story of gangsters and thieves with a playfulness as nimble as the feline after which it’s named....  read more

Chico & Rita

The one animated feature nominated for an Academy Award this year that does not center on an animal and is decidedly not for kids is Chico & Rita, a Spanish-language collaboration between Fernando Trueba (whose Belle Epoque won a foreign-language Oscar in 1994) and the popular and acclaimed Spanish designer Javier Mariscal. Coarse language, nudity and a historical backdrop that appeals to the politically and culturally astute render this expressive film an anomaly in the category—expressly for adults. Unfortunately, its evocative setting—the evolution of Afro-Cuban jazz in Havana and New York—sets the stage for a rather slight romance....  read more