La La Land

It's been a long time since this genre has been this good. I myself don't understand what the magic is and where that lightness comes from, which so many others are usually lacking. I can't even imagine how hard it must be to gauge the line between genius and kitsch in film music. You can really smell the talent. And Ryan, with Emma by his side, just lays it on like he was born for the part. 4.5 stars. (18/04/2017)

A gem where Damien Chazelle beautifully led me as a viewer. It all looks and sounds beautiful, but I had a problem adjusting to the fact that La La Land is too retro and a tribute to old musicals. But the director saves the strong emotions, the brutally truthful moments, and a slightly harsher treatment of the protagonists for the last third. That truly broke me. And it is precisely the contrast between the beautiful dreamlike world full of color and love and the reality that can be very cruel to dreamers that places La La Land among the films that simply must be seen. (16/05/2017)

It´s way too much for a musical, or perhaps it´s the other way around. Hard to say. In the first third, it is also a regular musical, where one well-directed musical scene in one shot alternates with another. But then the singing fades away and what remains is (and visually pleasingly beautiful) tribute to the technicolor era of Hollywood and classical jazz. Although still in the form of a music / dance film, but not a musical in the true sense. Or, conversely, there are too many songs and the opening third should also have done without them like most of the rest of the footage. But it should definitely have been fifteen or twenty minutes shorter. However, what saves the movie is the "we always have our beloved Paris" bittersweet ending. During this one, I would be willing to ignore every drawback. (05/01/2017)

A charming update of a classical musical, which, in the captivating rhythm of jazz, tells the sensual story of two souls whose paths were supposed to come together, but they just intersected. It made me so sad and was hard on my soul that I wanted to poke my brain with a needle from a turntable in front of all that technicolor beauty. Do you love jazz this much too? (04/01/2017)

Cute, thought-provoking, sad and happy. I like the realistic approach that Chazelle grafted onto the musical structure and its completeness. The dramatic arc in La La Land works incredibly well and indicates an active decision to make very alternative, unusual choices. Gosling and Stone are perfect. (25/01/2017)