La La Land (2016), directed by Damien Chazelle, follows the love story between an aspiring actress and a jazz musician, set against the backdrop of Los Angeles. Blending nostalgia with modern storytelling, the film explores the tension between dreams and reality.
Genre & Techniques
Musical Drama: Musicals use song and dance to express emotions and advance the narrative. They often feature dreamlike sequences, heightened emotions, and moments where reality bends into performance.
Techniques: Long takes and sweeping camera movements create a fluid, immersive feel; color symbolism enhances mood and character arcs; and lighting shifts between naturalism and fantasy to reflect emotional states.
Discussion Questions
- Film Technique: The opening highway sequence is filmed in a single take. How does this long take set the tone for the film, and what does it reveal about the world of La La Land?
- Genre: La La Land pays homage to classic Hollywood musicals like Singin’ in the Rain. What elements of old Hollywood musicals does it use, and how does it modernize them?
- Cultural Context: The film presents jazz as a dying art form that must evolve. How does La La Land depict the struggle between tradition and innovation in music and art?
- Personal Response: Did you like the film? Why or why not?
Taking from the name of the film, the central themes around the story are being in La La Land or an idealized dream, romance that is seen between Mia, Sebastian, and the many background characters, and finally, reality that must be faced. The opening scene sets the tone for all of these themes as the scene begins and ends with traffic and blaring horns, grounded in reality. However, the middle segment is filled with a musical number that involves every person on the overpass, all in pastel and colorful clothing that is pleasing to the eye, singing about another beautiful day of sun. The song played during this scene also starts with a woman singing about a lover she met when she was seventeen, showing romantic elements. The entire sequence was taken in one shot because it reflects being in reality, moving the La La Land in your head, and being sucked back to reality, and it being on one shot made the message more understandable through being fluid. The opening scene sets the world of La La Land to be one of high dreams, crushing reality, and a place for romance.
ReplyDeleteLa La Land takes from previous musicals like Dancin’ in the Rain with its long shots of dance sequences, dreamy sequences like the last scene where Sebastian imagines a perfect life with Mia, and finally, a vibrant color palette in the Technicolor style with bright, primary color palettes. However, while previous musicals may have had a happily ever after ending, La La Land evolved to have a bittersweet ending, where both Mia and Sebastian achieve their goals, but separate to achieve that. Along with that, La La Land adds realistic dialogue that is not so La La Land in the breakup scene between Mia and Sebastian.
La La Land depicts the struggle of Sebastian's traditional and dreamy Jazz goal, and the reality of being an innovator through Keith and his club, Seb’s. When Sebastian is still giving Keith the cold shoulder while practicing with them, Keith points out the hypocrisy in Sebastian’s goals, as there is no way to be a traditionalist and an innovator, and the only way to get younger people to come to his music is by creating something new. In the end, Sebastian compromises at the end of the film on his goal of being a traditionalist to create a successful, innovative jazz club. The film points out that the only way to remain relevant in any passion is by innovating; otherwise, you fall behind with the few who prefer tradition.
Overall, I really enjoyed La La Land, and I loved all of the cinematography, coloring, composition, music, and story. While I knew at the end of the film that Sebastian and Mia could not stay together if it meant achieving their dreams, it was still a gut-punch bittersweet ending.
The highway sequence sets a world of fantasy and idealization with realism. The scene opens up in a very busy traffic jam when suddenly it breaks into music and dancing. The choreography and upbeat music feel surreal and dreamlike, meant to reflect the idealized notion of creative ambition. However, at the same time, the transition back to normalcy within the traffic jam establishes the contrast between ambition and the mundane, frustrating nature of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteLa La Land incorporates large choreographed dance scenes into the storytelling of the movie, accompanied by musical numbers. They are not merely for entertainment or display, they portray the emotions and dreams of characters, revealing who they are as a person. This is very common in classical theater performances like Broadway musicals. The film presents a very dreamlike atmosphere with stunning visuals of Los Angeles, colorful sunsets, and dark-blue night skies. It has a very saturated, vibrant color palette that gives the movie its dreamy and surreal uniqueness, similar to the feeling classical Hollywood musicals evoke. However, the movie does not always retain these features. From time to time, it incorporates the realities and struggles of everyday life in a fast-paced world. It does not always obey the traditions of classical romance, it turns it into something believable and real. Apart from visuals, the movie occasionally switches in between jazz musical scores and modern contemporary music. It connects past and present, idealism and reality, it mirrors how both characters have to shift from their aspirations and dreams and the dull reality of “now.”
La La Land establishes the aspirations and goals of Sebastian, with an insatiable dream for jazz. He especially wants to preserve the legacy of jazz, even if it means going against current trends. We see this in the scene where Sebastian first plays in Bill’s club, where he is asked to play within the setlist but lets his true intentions take over as it shifts from Christmas music to a soft, melancholic musical piece. Sebastian embraces tradition and revival. On the other hand, Mia embraces innovation and change, representing the need for living in “today.” By pursuing her dream of becoming a successful actress, she tries to find a way to express herself and embrace her artistic views while constantly trying to reinvent herself and improve for the world around her. In the end, Sebastian was able to form a very successful jazz club by balancing tradition with innovation to create relevance to the newer generation. It suggests that progress does not mean erasing the past, it means reinventing and evolving it, combining two completely different things to create something new and unique.
I really liked the film. I watched it before and I was especially a fan of the musical scores, they were very memorable and catchy, especially the piano piece. The visuals and story especially completed the experience for me. A very pleasant yet heartfelt late night watch.
- Eli Macias