La La Land

**Really a good movie, which justifies the hype around it.** Who doesn't remember “La La Land”? It was released in theaters in 2016, and was one of the most viewed and acclaimed films of that year. It was a film that was virtually carried in the lap between festivals and awards of the seventh art, and that seemed destined to clean them all up, as “Titanic” had done two decades before. When he arrived at the Oscars, he had practically nominations in almost every category where he could be included! Of the fourteen nominations, however, it collected “only” six statuettes, with the seventh – Best Film – slipping through the fingers in what was the most absolute embarrassment in the entire history of the Hollywood Academy: the infamous but historic exchange of envelopes, that we all have in our memory. But when I said “only”, it is necessary to put things in perspective: what many producers would not have given to win six Oscars in one of their films! Like it or not, it was a great achievement and "La La Land" received a well-deserved accolade that night. The film, directed by newcomer Damien Chazelle, is a worthy homage to musicals from Hollywood's golden age, and features a generally sympathetic script: an aspiring starlet trying to become an actress meets and falls in love with a purist jazz pianist. who wants to restore people's interest in the musical genre he loves, and which he feels is slowly being lost. It is their mutual passion that makes them not give up on their respective dreams, but it will also end up dictating that both follow their own paths. And indeed, the film's bittersweet and slightly too realistic ending shockingly clashes with the magic felt throughout the rest of the film. It's like having a very beautiful dream, where anything is possible with some effort and serious work, and ending up seeing that dream trampled by a heavy, raw and often unfair reality. And it must be said, although the characters seem likeable, they are selfish and only think about themselves and their interests. They seem to stick together only as long as it really benefits their individual interests. Although I don't like the characters very much, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling offer us, in the film, two magnificent works of interpretation and also of singing and dancing. Gosling showed hidden talents on the keyboard of a piano, and both are very good at choreography, although singing is not particularly strong point for either. Both are young, and it is quite possible that they will give us even better dramatic performances in the future. The rest of the film's cast hardly matters, it's one of those movies where the main characters are so overwhelming and omnipresent that there's no room for anyone else. Technically, the film has several frankly good aspects that deserve our attention and our praise. For starters, the film's honest and intelligent way of recreating and inserting scenes and dance routines from the great musicals of the past, from “Shall We Dance” to “Singing in the Rain” and “West Side Story”. The scenarios, the elements, the routines are there. The cinematography, colorful, frank, generous with light, is magnificent and a feast for the eyes. The editing was done in an excellent and very skillful way. The scenery couldn't be better, taking advantage of the Hollywood Hills or the Griffith Observatory in the best way. The soundtrack, melodies and songs are excellent.