Why not a musical?

Everybody had been talking about a musical – La La Land – when the Golden Globes Awards ceremony arrived at the beginning of the year and the musical managed to win 7 awards. Later, the film got 14 nominations for the Oscar Awards, a number of nominations which is only comparable to the number of nominations received by All about Eve or Titanic in the past. In this respect, the film has already made history and its director – Damien Chazelle – can feel very proud of it. What´s so special about these nominations? The fact that this film is a musical is what makes it so special: for instance, a musical hadn´t got a nomination for Best Picture since Chicago won it in 2003.  In short, it´s highly unlikely to have the opportunity of watching a musical in our local cinemas these days. If you think of the genre of musicals, you are bound to think of the “old times” and the films associated with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers to name but a few of the best actors of this genre. But the genre lost the appeal of those decades and I guess that the idea of making a musical now could have even been greeted with some derision by some producers or directors. That´s why, Damien Chazelle´s project is risky, unconventional and daring. His film is influenced by some of the best musicals in the history of cinema – Singin´ in the Rain and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg but West Side Story is also clearly reflected in some aspects – and aspires to bring to mind other films which are also linked to the history of cinema such as Rebel Without a Cause. La La Land tells the story of two dreamers but it tells us about the essence of cinema and the driving force of musicals. After watching the film, I reflected on the aspects which made it so different so as to be able to get so many awards – Golden Globes awards, SAG awards and Oscar nominations. The story was good and entertaining as well as the performances and of course, the music was great because, after all, what´s a musical about? When you think of Singin´ in the Rain or Cabaret do you really think about the plot of the film? What do you best remember about those films: the story or the actors singing and dancing with beautiful choreographies? As I walked out of the cinema, I began to notice the influence that the film had had on me: I felt gripped by the music of the film and the images of the actors dancing. Musicals like La La Land manage to capture the so- called “joie de vivre” and make you forget about your problems for a long time – not only while you are watching the film – thanks to a wonderful soundtrack and thanks to the graceful movements of actors and dancers who make you feel that life is about beauty and harmony. That´s why, I encourage you to watch musicals as musicals make us feel better just by singing and dancing since they  convey the happiness of the characters in a physical way which goes beyond the boundaries of the big screen and reaches us in a different way from the one we are used to in other genres. Musicals affect us emotionally and physically because we feel the same urge to dance as the characters of the film when we finish watching the film, they appeal to us in a very physical way rather than in a very intellectual way, so please forget about all the articles which are coming up these days with some far-fetched interpretations about the storyline, interpretations which are offered by detractors and devoted fans alike: just go to the cinema, watch the film and enjoy the story but above all, enjoy the music and the dancing and go on singing and dancing as you walk out of the cinema, that´s the secret of musicals, that´s what musicals are about, don´t you think?

                                       

                                                    Official trailer for La La Land.

         

                                                 One of my favourite songs from the film.

When La La Land won so many awards at the Golden Globes awards ceremony, I thought that in a way, this film was paying tribute to Debbie Reynolds, who died on 28^th December and whose career was closely linked to the genre of musicals. Debbie Reynolds was the mother of Carrie Fisher – she died one day before her mother – who will always be remembered as Princess Leia in the Stars Wars film series but apart from that unforgettable character, I´ll always think of her as Meg Ryan´s best friend in When Harry Met Sally.