La La Land
Diego Vera

Review by Diego Vera

La La Land 2016

★★★★★

Rewatched Dec 31, 2017

2017, to say at the least, has been a hard year. With hurricane Maria leaving me without power from September until literally two weeks ago, being at my worst mental health during the summer, my grandma passing the week of my birthday, and a fire in my kitchen on Christmas, it’s been eventful and stressful. But, when I look back and think, even with all the bad, there is one, one huge thing, that I couldn’t be more grateful for. And it’s this. It’s me, on a Friday night, right after having seen Split with some friends, sneaking into a 10pm showing of La La Land, without knowing anything or having even seen the trailer. I sat in a small, semi-full theater alongside my parents. And when it started, right in sunny LA with an explosion of color and joy, me and my parents looked at each other, and we all smiled. And I knew, from that moment, that I was seeing something truly special. I was completely taken away and immersed into the world in front of me. And I remember gasping when Mia flies into the air into the planetarium scene, and being in near tears in the epilogue. And walking out of the theater feeling so bittersweet, sad yet uplifted. And telling my parents how much I adored it, and how it made me feel. And I remember the obsession, where for months it wouldn’t leave my thoughts and I longed to be able to see it again in theaters. And all of that, it lead me to this. It lead to me film, to cinema, to this community, to Instagram, to Letterboxd. It sparked a new passion and interest in me, and I will forever be thankful for that. So, when I look back at this year and all that’s happened, I look back to this. I look back to La La Land, I look back to being in awe of what I was seeing on that Friday night, I look back to all the joy and sadness it’s caused me 11 viewings later, I look back to my newfound passion for cinema, and I look back to this app. And I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, Damien. Thank you, Ryan and Emma. Thank you, Justin and everyone else involved in the making of this film. And thank you, to all of you who follow me here, and read my dumb reviews. I’m glad to have all of you alongside me in my film journey. Here’s to whatever comes in 2018, and I wish you all a happy new year.

Here’s to the ones who dream, foolish as they may seem. Here’s to the hearts that ache; here’s to the mess we make.

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