La La Land

The only musical since Moulin Rouge! that is not only artistically beautiful, but also internally fragile. The most poetic romance since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And maybe the ”cutest” movie ever, with its heart on its sleeve. It is a wonderful tribute to film, music, love and the city of stars (pardon, angels), which won’t give you anything for free. Damien Chazelle is a game changer; he understands much more deeply than anyone else. And he does what he wants without disturbing the perfect fulfillment of the genre template. In short, he’s the greatest new filmmaking talent of this decade. (01/22/2017)

I'm not denying that it has the intrinsic energy and impressive technical processing, but I'm not willing to deal with the fact that the musical interludes actually hurt it (the second half, which more or less gets by without them, is much better than the first). In addition, the lavish kitsch framing the story of the supposedly naive but in many ways self-centered narcissists is actually annoying. What I want from Chazelle is any genre film where the music will be a means, not an end. Given his age, he has unique skills. (01/05/2017)

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. (04/17/2017)

Here's to the ones who dream. About the fact that the factory of dreams can give everything or take everything. About dreams that sooner or later must collide with reality. And finally, about the fact that when someone says they will never stop loving you, it is possible that they really mean it. From the first published image of the dancing couple, I knew that Damien Chazelle was making this film for people like me. And with the epilogue, he proved that he left a considerable part of his heart in La La Land. (01/05/2017)

Am I supposed to feel touched by a stupid romance between two unlikeable, narcissistic elitarians? Am I supposed to suffer because of their first world problems? All because of a film with a plot disguised as a ridiculously banal allegory of the four seasons that is more see-through than Casper the ghost? Fuck no! There is plenty to praise (the random stage sets, a couple of cute moments, the last ten minutes or so – that would have worked better with more likeable characters), but if this is supposed to be an unrivalled favourite for this year’s Oscars, kiss my ass! No LA-LA here for me, massive disappointment. PS: I’m still thinking why this film didn’t work for me (because I really thought I would like it). The main reason I see is that the initial musical build-up of the relationship doesn’t manage (at least for me) to lay down a sufficiently strong foundation for the feelings in the ambitious non-musical ending. (01/04/2017)