From the tour de force soundtrack to its flights of fancy, “La La Land” left me with tears in my eyes and a sudden fascination with jazz music. “La La Land” is a blend of cinematic escapism and authenticity, a clash of dreams and reality. I have watched this film probably more than twenty times and I still never get tired of it. Truer words have never been spoken - well, that’s coming from a “La La Land” fanatic like me. It was the combination of fantasy and realism that got me.” “I remember seeing for the first time as a kid and going from annoyed - ‘Are they really going to do this much singing?’ - to utterly overwhelmed by the end.
“No movie has ever hit me more,” Damien Chazelle, the director of “La La Land,” told the Hollywood Reporter. Writer’s note: This article may contain spoilers for “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.” If you have not seen “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” but loved “La La Land,” I highly recommend streaming the French musical right now and revisit this article after.