It has happened again. Again a movie has cornered all eyes specialized press and critics to become the phenomenon that everyone talks, for better and for worse. But with passions so. No midpoint. In my case, initial reluctance to see a musical disappeared with the first 'dabadaba' a few seconds to start.
Like the English term, ‘catchy’, to refer to a catchy song that grabs you, I not only let myself be caught from the beginning but I gave myself with open arms to this musical number,,es,If even street lamps appear out of nowhere in case it is necessary to start with a few dance steps to impress your girl in the style of Gene Kelly in ‘Singing in the rain’,,es,And there are also the envies - those are timeless - and the lack of respect towards the young aspiring artists who are treated as a simple number.,,es,or that interrupts the test at its peak - the one in which the girl has opened raw - to order a cappuccino,,es,or who dispatches the bundle of nerves in front of them just by listening to a simple sentence from the script,,es, colorful and contagious. A white and nostalgic entertainment that transported me to the golden age of Hollywood, where penalties are less with a good compass to support them. Si hasta aparecen farolas de la nada por si es necesario arrancarse con unos pasos de baile para impresionar a tu chica al estilo de Gene Kelly en ‘Singing in the rain’.
We are not in vain in the land of 'lalala' (Lalala Land), where every moment has its soundtrack and kisses always end with a fade to black. Where but here I jam on the highway and glorious sunshine could become a makeshift parade? Where, besides here, They could fit the travails of the artist's life with such elegance, drama and frivolity equally?
Yes sir, Hollywood traits. Some features that have been enhanced with this crossover continuum between the present time and that of the great American movie musical. Smartphones and social networks coexist with cars and dressed in retro air in the same universe that gathers the best of each world. Y también están las envidias –esas son atemporales– y la falta de respeto hacia las jóvenes aspirantes a artista que son tratadas como un simple número. Whose illusions are trampled by a casting director who does not look away phone, o que interrumpe la prueba en su punto más álgido –aquel en el que la muchacha se ha abierto en carne viva– para pedir un capuccino, o que despacha al manojo de nervios que tiene delante con solo escuchar una simple frase del guion.
Of these constant abuses understands quite Mia (Emma Stone), one of these young aspirants who shares an apartment with as many of their condition, and lives permanently despondent with every humiliation received. But the good thing is that the music in just seconds your friends cheer you up with a choreography that ends in one of the lavish parties of the most important district of Los Angeles. So far it could be the typical film teenage girls looking to achieve his dream, Nona flat, but the packaging of the number and the wonderful soundtrack by Justin Hurwitz make something that could have been in a crude attempt, even uncouth, something sophisticated and charming.
On the opposite side, but in the same direction, is Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician committed to rescue this genre of its apparent decline and open a club where I keep it alive. In fact, It is a purist. It does not allow extravagances or flirtations with other genres that could distort the untouchable legacy left exponents like Hoagy Carmichael, del cual, He claims to have a stool on which sat. But despite his enthusiasm and passion, he also has to live and accept odd jobs petty. That's how he meets Mia, but as often it happens in this kind of sweeping stories, the beginning is not exactly a walk in the clouds.
Even better. The odds loves, we know. And in that journey of discovery of each other we soaked up the naivete and the illusion of two strangers getting to know, first as people, and then as artists. Well giblets dancers are made Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling! I did not know these qualities to tap dance. Then there is the chemistry that makes them a delicious couple, dazzles and not cloying. Dancing by the stars in the planetarium the Griffith Observatory -the same of 'Rebel Without a Cause' (They live there got my cinephile corazoncito)- is one of the most romantic visual metaphors that I have attended in years,,es,It is impossible for those of us who dedicate ourselves - or intend to dedicate ourselves - to the journalistic or communicative profession not to empathize with Mia when it breaks,,es,typical of musical theater - it made me move in my armchair and I also returned to reality,,es,not only interpretively,,es,mischief or dejection through their music is something that only a few know how to do,,es. The sweetness in these movements and those velvety melodies and vibrant, Wild Birds sing as if, I was transported by the pair of dancers, Beyond the Clouds.
But at some point you have to put your feet on the ground. The path of self-realization can lead to occasional toll, and we can not let distractions get us out of the dream world of the road. Pass the counter of the cafe Warner to his film set requires a value that is often demolished by the insecurities that gives us this cruel world. Es imposible para los que nos dedicamos –o pretendemos dedicarnos– a la profesión periodística o comunicativa no empatizar con Mia cuando esta se rompe. How often rational thinking of choosing a more stable activity, more profitable and less exposed, It has gone through our minds to tempt us and leave everything!
So that Sebastian is nearby to rescue lost in the welter involving these musings, direct and redirect it to your dream. Or wait, It is not the other way around? Or maybe it was mutual ... The only thing I have clear is that wonderful epilogue, with decorated papier mache aesthetics broadway and bodies of endless ballet, típicos del teatro musical– hizo que me conmoviera en mi butaca y que regresara yo también a la realidad. As if I were a sweet journey whose grounds began to notice from the moment it appeared the label 'The End' on screen.
Sin duda, the greatest achievement of 'Lala Land' is to be convincing and sincere, no solo a nivel interpretativo, but musical. Hurwitz's ability to convey emotions as abstract as the naivety, la picardía o el abatimiento a través de su música es algo que solo saben hacer unos pocos. So when you find yourself impacts both, because you pinches the soul (as the theme of Mia and Sebastian playing over the loudspeaker). Bravo also by the director, Damien Chazelle, who barely 31 years has created this inner world so rich in nuances and tell this story with the narrative rhythm that required their musicality.
And with the same sense of who just woke up from a dream, still with a bittersweet smile, I find myself encouraging me to sing the first chords of 'City of stars' or 'Another day of sun', melodies and accompany me forever like many other classics that are part of the soundtrack of my life.
