I always think that an excellent film must have a tortuous and circuitous plot. However, this long-standing concept was instantly broken by the appearance of this film. "la la land" only needs the simple drama like noodles in clear soup, and the simple and pure relationship between characters makes the whole film stand up, which is inseparable from the excellent narrative ability and skills of director damien chazelle.
The theme of la la land is still about "ideal meets reality", but this time the director put away his anger and told the story in the most delicate and plain language. Mia, played by Emma Stone in the movie, is an unsuccessful actress. She has to live in a coffee shop because of the pressure of life, but she has never given up her enthusiasm for pursuing acting. Sebastian, played by Ryan Collins, is a musician who is obsessed with traditional jazz music. He wants to own his own bar so that he can play real jazz music for the audience. Two frustrated young people, in the exchange of music and dance, gradually sublimated their feelings under the collision. They encouraged each other and gradually moved towards each other's ideals.
It's hard for us to laugh at their innocence, on the contrary, we will be infected by their words and deeds, because in this materialistic society, there are very few people who can persist in pursuing their dreams and not completely compromise with reality. There is a line in the film that goes like this: "If you are addicted to nostalgia, what about revolution and innovation?" It's hard to guarantee that this is not the warning that the director has received. Nevertheless, Damian is still looking for the most primitive impulse in his heart through "Burst Drummer" and "la la land".
there is no doubt that the most exciting thing about this film is that the songs that are moving are interspersed with the main body of the story. This is a difficult test for the artistic conception of song creation and the meticulous degree of plot layout. Although song and dance scenes occupy a certain proportion in this film, Damian did not let them usurp the host's role, but appropriately showed the joy of the hero and heroine bathing in love, or lost in the reality of contradictory and sad mood. At the same time, they also contribute to the romanticism of this film.
In many films of the same type, the use of song and dance scenes often gives the audience an excuse to escape from reality and yearn for ideals. The song and dance elements in la la land have the same decorative effect, the only difference is that she defends the purity of the love between the hero and heroine in the film, especially when they dance freely in the street, or the scene of flying to the Milky Way, dancing and embracing each other affectionately is like a fairy tale overhead in the real world.
But Damian is also pragmatic. Soon, all the romantic fantasies that fascinated people were disintegrated into pieces. After becoming famous, Mia and Sebastian went their separate ways, and what linked them was a series of familiar notes from the past. At this time, the moving melodies in the first half of the film all evolved into vivid pictures in the minds of the audience and the protagonist in an instant. Their real situation and relationship with the two people invisibly constitute an embarrassing and strong contrast and collision.
People love to enjoy literary romantic films, because the innate instinct of human beings-the beauty of adults. Taiwan Province has a literary film called Flying Against the Light, which also tells the story of how the hero and heroine chase their dreams, but he didn't destroy the audience's wishes as badly as la la land did, for fear of violating the "rules". But Damian tried to tell the audience through such regrets that those memory symbols that are condensed in time are not the most splendid eternity.
In fact, for a long time, Hollywood operas have been regarded as sub-cultural films, giving people the impression of being expensive and arrogant. So Damian tried to draw the distance between the film and the young audience through two young idols with affinity-Ryan Collins and Emma Stone. In the film, the two leading actors showed good musical talents and performance standards. Especially when singing and lines switch to each other, the mood should be natural and smooth, and there is no trace. You know, any superb acting skills can't be separated from enough communication and environmental reflection, otherwise it will be empty and boring. In fact, at the beginning of the film, the two protagonists have not fully grasped the performance transition, and in the second half of the film, they are getting better and better.
Someone once said that this film was written by Damian to "a love letter to Los Angeles". Indeed, Los Angeles shown in the film is romantic city and the birthplace of a dream, but I don't think this story has a strong regional color. It is not difficult to understand the feelings of Mia and Sebastian. When we enter the society, we will naturally enter the marriage hall, then have children and live an ordinary life. Sometimes, when love faces the consideration of real life, it will inevitably change its taste. At this moment, instead, we will reminisce about the emotion of * * * working together for the ideal without any utilitarian and materialistic feelings.
When this film was shown in public at Venice Film Festival last year, it got a good evaluation. In this year, it won 14 nominations for the Academy Award, which is a brilliant achievement. Although the production cost of this film is only $3 million, it shows the humanistic atmosphere of Los Angeles through sincere and natural feelings, and has artistic value that cannot be measured by awards. If the western audience still stays in the fleeting era of Wong Kar-wai's Chongqing Forest, when the canned saury will expire and love will not keep fresh, then Damian proves with la la land that the flowing rhythm has no shelf life. When the deja vu rhythm is played, we will suddenly follow it back to the lush years when we live for our dreams. (Text/Mike Crazy said the movie)