▲ Jae-Yeong Jeong, Younghoon international middle school

The world is cold and harsh to those who dream with passion. Apart from the difficulty of reaching success, artists also face the fundamental question of whether economic prosperity trumps ideology. La La Land takes this problem, and provides comfort for all dreamers.

The film is lofty and eccentric, as it adopts the cast, crew, and production stage designers of a musical into film . Movies like ‘Sing Street’ and ‘Begin Again’ use musical numbers as performances, while La La land chooses more of a traditional approach. It uses songs as factors to propel the story forward. In this aspect, La La Land is similar to traditional musical movies such as ‘Singing in the Rain’ or ‘Sound of Music’ in elements like the opening sequence, tap dancing, smooth transition into musical numbers, and THE END sign. It is a film with the nostalgia and love for the 60’s and 80’s musical films.

Sebastian is a man who is striving to revive Jazz by opening his own club. Mia is a dropout who came to Hollywood in search for her child hood dream of an actor. These two characters depict the obstacles modern artists face. They rely and seek support from each other, whilst being each other’s reason to hold back. Songs like ‘City of Stars’ ‘Audition’ adds layer to the fear, regret, and hope the couple feels towards their work. The weighing between a love relationship and passion in which you have to put everything in is one of the biggest questions in the film, and the bittersweet ending can be interpreted in many ways.

Drama between a man and a woman is neither innovative, unexplored territory nor groundbreaking theme. But the method of utilizing music as Damien Chazelle has shown in his debut ‘Whiplash’, and the cinematic creativity which that magnifies makes La La Land one of, if not the best movies of 2016. Rather than a movie, it comes off as a musical Broadway performance, of a tremendous  scale to consume the crowd. Damien Chazelle once again excels at blending in jazz, his passion and love, with a film.

La La Land is a ‘well-shot’ and ‘well-made’ film. Judiciously used Long takes used in musical sequences shows hundreds of rehearsals and endless practice hours, and it is simulated with perfection. It does not miss a single detail, large or small, from the actors’ slightest emotional shift to beautifully shot dreamy LA scenery.

‘Rebel without a Cause’ starring James Dean, ‘Casablanca’ starring Ingrid Burgman and Humphrey Boggart are all classics that serve a little role in La La Land. In the core of La La Land, there is love for the classics, parody of the modern Hollywood, and the vibrancy of the music industry. Thousands of auditions and artists who are willing to take risks, a culture that worships everything but values nothing, a society that requires you to beswift to change are all the definition and the downfall of modern pop culture. La La land emphasizes that in this wreckage of a world, the only things that actually matters are love for the classic.

The article is the English translation of movie reviews that a 17 years old student publishes serially in Munhwa Journal 21 -- Editor.  lyk@mhj21.com