La La Land is a tribute to the great musical comedies of cinema, while also being a new story of two aspiring artists trying to make it in Hollywood, played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in front of Damien Chazelle’s camera.
And if the latter admitted that his favorite scene came from the musical film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, he took advantage of La La Land to escape and pay tribute to this feature film by Jacques Demi, which he loves. And in particular this:
A nod to a French movie whose name you know
If you freeze the footage at 59 minutes Right in the movie, you’ll see Mia (Emma Stone) writing dialogue for a character named Genevieve in her diary. This is the name of the heroine Umbrellas of CherbourgPerformed by Catherine Deneuve.
The writings remain
But there are others!
This is not the only wink, as at the end of the two featurettes we see a white gas station with red stripes:
A famous gas station
And when Sebastian and Mia turn and look out the window, we see that a shop sells…umbrellas and it’s written in French! So many clues that no longer cast doubt on whether they ended up in La La Land by accident.
Hollywood umbrellas
Filmed on a $30 million budget, La La Land was a huge success upon release, grossing $447.4 million internationally. The film also won 6 Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Emma Stone (Ryan Gosling lost to Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea), Best Director for Damien Chazelle, and Best Score for Justin Hurwitz.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
