The magic of the moving picture. The power films have of taking us to new yet familiar worlds is something few things that exist can do. I’m the beginning they were nothing more than short pieces of every day life. Then they grew much bigger into pieces of entertainment. From there, films began to be more experimental and more expressive. And now we live in a world where cinema has changed the world. Cinema has definitely changed my world. It is my world. And it’s the world for every filmmaker out there. My favorite types of films are the most magical. The ones that have a sense of wonder and imagination or even dreams. Most notably the Golden Age of Hollywood. The films from that era helped establish my love for cinema. Modern times, The Wizard of Oz, and my favorite, Casablanca. They all give me a feelings I can’t describe and that’s what I love most about La La Land. It’s a film that takes me back to that bygone era. It’s a love letter to cinema which I believe to be the most personal thing a filmmaker can create. He composes and frames the shots to make them look similar to much older pictures and moves the camera similar to how older DPs would. Jazz is something I associate with the time period so hearing the jazz influenced score, helps me think of the time period. Damien Chazelle captures the aesthetic of the past and gives it a modern vibe. Old Hollywood meets New Hollywood. The ending presents us with the realistic truth that not everyone ends up together seen in modern films while adding in the imaginative and nostalgic “ what if” montage to help give it a bittersweet ending. This is a film that makes me more happy than sad. Maybe it’s the way I focus on the bright side of bittersweet endings. However, rewatching this film, I am reminded of why I love films in the first place. It’s not necessarily revolutionary or new, nor does it linger in the past. It’s a creative and visionary piece of filmmaking that I hold dear to my heart.