As the Awards Season is coming to an end, year
reviews are being thought, and lists are being made, one realises that few are
those films that by the end of a year have made an impact to critics and/or
audiences. It is not uncommon, after all, for a film to take the big award home
but at the same time not to have been embraced by movie-goers around the world.
Or, even so, there are those films that have been loved by audiences but have
left critics somewhat unimpressed and still they manage to win at the end of
the night. And last but not least, let’s not forget those instances when films
were adored by critics and audiences alike and yet, they were ignored by the
Academy. (One of the reasons the Academy changed its 5-Best-Movie-Nominee
policy was the disregard for the masterful The Dark Knight back in 2008.)
We arrive in 2016 and this year we have
another uncommon situation before our eyes. There has come a movie which
excited critics in and out of festivals and it also thrilled the majority of
cinéphiles: La La Land. Damien
Chazelle’s third feature film after the quite unknown Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009)
and the glorious Whiplash (2014) which won 3 Oscars including a Supporting Actor
award for J.K. Simpson. His third successful effort stars Ryan
Gosling and Emma Stone (their third collaboration on film). What was rather
unusual with La La Land was that the rumours of its magnificence ended up
being true and even though there are some who may not see what the big deal is,
there are so many more who have loved it tremendously.
So, what is it about this film that has evoked
so many positive feelings and reviews from all around the world? And why has a
film about the world of Hollywood, a rather regional subject if you ask me,
been so successful?
First of all, allow me to address some other
films that have been about showbiz. Almost all of them were critically
acclaimed in their particular genres and most of them are considered classics nowadays:
1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
A personal favourite, Gene Kelly’s masterpiece starring himself, the recently late Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor is a musical satire of Hollywood and its struggle to come to terms with new technologies as the appearance of sound makes actors, producers and directors change their way of work.
A personal favourite, Gene Kelly’s masterpiece starring himself, the recently late Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor is a musical satire of Hollywood and its struggle to come to terms with new technologies as the appearance of sound makes actors, producers and directors change their way of work.
2. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
A Hollywood screenwriter (William Holden) develops a relationship with a faded silent film star (Gloria Swanson) whose loss of success and stardom has left her alone and rather demented hoping to regain her place in Hollywood.
A Hollywood screenwriter (William Holden) develops a relationship with a faded silent film star (Gloria Swanson) whose loss of success and stardom has left her alone and rather demented hoping to regain her place in Hollywood.
3. A Star is Born (1954)
The relationship between a faded movie star and a showgirl (Judy Garland) is challenged when the former’s career plunges while the latter’s takes off.
The relationship between a faded movie star and a showgirl (Judy Garland) is challenged when the former’s career plunges while the latter’s takes off.
4. Adaptation (2002)
7. The Producers (1967 & 2005)
Thus, after seeing this small list of a few
examples of films about show business, you can understand that Hollywood and
its people are not a rare subject; especially the problems one faces to make a
film or generally make it in this
world. So, then La La Land comes out; and it is also a story about two people
who try to succeed in their respective fields: Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress who has been trying to break
into the film industry for years and Sebastian
(Ryan
Gosling) is a jazz pianist whose dream is to open his own jazz club in
L.A. These two meet and a romance starts to bloom between them. And their relationship
as well as L.A. is presented to us, the audience, in a dreamlike way; not only
due to the direction but also due to the cinematography and the music too.
You see, La La Land is a musical at heart. It
might not be a song-driven musical as there are only about five genuinely
musical numbers during the film, but still it is a film with some surreal
cinematic moments (the kind of which usually appears in musicals). What is
more, Damien Chazelle directs each
scene as a tribute and as a direct reference to old movies such as Les
Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967), Grease (1978), Singin’ in the Rain (1952),
West
Side Story (1961) and Shall We Dance (1937). Each set is
full of colours like the old Technicolor films (I also noticed that in almost
every shot there is something that is red, blue, yellow and green) and every
shot is presented to us in an old-fashioned way: as they could have been
directed, were they shot in the 50’s for instance.
Also: the music. Strangely enough, the music is
not what first stands out when one watches La La Land. It just accompanies the
story – as any good soundtrack ought to do – and it is not until later that you
appreciate the score. Justin Hurwitz‘s
original songs are simple yet sentimental and catchy. One day after having
watched the film, I found myself humming “City
of Stars”, or wanting to re-listen to “Start
a Fire” or finding that “Another Day in the Sun” had stuck in my head. That
is quite a difficult thing to do: make original music that will stay with the
audience of a film long after they leave the theatre.
One final element that has made La La
Land stand out is its stars. Both are likable, talented (two
surprisingly good singers right there) and pretty approachable; Emma
Stone and Ryan Gosling could easily be your neighbours next door (and I’m
sure many would wish for that). They can both effortlessly persuade you that
they live in L.A. trying to make their dreams come true, and they are both
attractive enough that make you feel sad and wonder why they have trouble in
succeeding.
So, after having seen all the pieces that make
up the puzzle called La La Land, can we say that we
understand the appeal? It is not a story that we haven’t seen before, after
all, and it certainly does not constitute of scenes that are admittedly
original. Yet, there is something that makes La La Land so attractive
that is almost unexplainable; it is a nostalgic feeling of innocence and
dreams, of unspoiled hopes and undamaged wishful thinking. It is a sentimental story
that shows optimism and faith to the unattainable, it is a tale of choices; and
even when things do not turn out as our heroes hoped they would, even when
their actions were (or might have been) a mistake, La La Land still turns to
their eagerness for something better.
What audiences (and especially people who love
the arts) find in this story is the what
could be and the what could have been,
because they see a series of decisions made by people who strive for their
dreams and fight and fall and wish to have done things differently and hope and
despair and love along the way. At the end of the day, La La Land is a love
story in essence. Love for your partner, love between the two protagonists, love
for your other half, love for your dreams, love for the arts, love for music and
love for cinema.
And who doesn’t love a good love story?
La La Land has been nominated for 14 Academy Awards
including Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement
in Directing, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Performance
by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography,
Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing,
Best Sound Editing, Best Original Song “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools
who Dream)”, Best Production Design.
Α ρε Ναταλία!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing movie!
ReplyDelete