Decoded: La La Land by Lionsgate
A work of art yet to be matched and my personal favorite film.
I was 18 years old when I watched this film for the first time.
It was a dark time in my life and it brought me hope.
It inspired to be a fool that dreamed and it brought me to this country.
Every moment of this film could be framed and placed in an art museum.
It is an unapologetic love song to Los Angeles and the dreamers of the day.
The element of this film that I love the most is just how quickly they fold you in to the narrative and allow you to suspend your imagination and create worlds within the world being created.
Every aspect of this film serves the core.
A dreamer's delight that leaves you wanting more and desiring for what could have been.
I had never felt so engaged and enraptured by a film and I was lost in the love that was captured beautifully by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone's consistently electric artistic partnership.
Damien Chazelle created a work of art that wasn't afraid to be what it was: an homage to so many that came before yet unlike anything else that had been created.
La La Land inspired me and was the last nail in the boat I built to capture me across the westerly winds to a land I had never been to before and dream with my eyes wide open about creating a life here as an artist, as a dreamer, and as a lover.
There is nothing I would rather do than live out the life I have always dreamt up that has so much to do with the colors, music, light, design, and performances that elevate every aspect of my life and this film.
I can't imagine who I'd be without this film and the tremendous impact it had on my life.
It is a love song to love, sacrifice, pain, and growth.
I see people more because of it and I see my life be everything it can be and immersed in the truth that my life can be a musical even without the greatest voice or the best dance form.
People's greatest critique of this film is why I believe it succeeded:
The stars aren't the best dancers or singers in the world but they are human, lived in, and just want another day of sun, holding each other close in this city of stars.
Yours faithfully,
Sam Qavah John.
Comments