Old and forgotten done right becomes new and fresh

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2016)

"Old and forgotten done right becomes new and fresh"
It's almost surreal to watch Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sing and tap dance against a picturesque view of LA. Here are two top stars taking on these really challenging roles, singing and tap dancing in a jazz musical. And the outcome is really lovely. In a very old Hollywood kind of way.
"When dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream" - sth. along the lines of what Watcha user 백수골방 wrote.
As with Chazelle's previous film Whiplash, the ending was riveting and unexpected. Yes, Mia and Seb both achieve their dreams, but it seems as though the reality each of them gave up becomes their dreams. Dream vs. reality, an endless cycle of given up opportunity costs. However, this is why La La Land can strike a chord with a mass audience - anyone who has dreamed or anyone who has loved will be able to relate to the characters and engage with the story.
WATCH IN THEATRES: There were times during musical sequences or emotional scenes when the audio is completely silent. And in these moments, you can hear the entire audience catching their breath and you are suddenly so aware that you are watching a film at a theatre with a collective audience. It's a really rare traditional film-watching experience.
We are currently in an era of reinterpreting and rebooting old content, there hasn't been much freshness in films for a long time. Film has been around long enough to have explored so many stories and techniques, and film audiences have seen more films than ever that it's hard to come up with something that can leave an impression that lingers for days after watching.
La La Land, however, is different. It not only leaves a lingering impression, but it also gives you a feeling that you're watching something that will be talked about for a long time.
La La Land does take notes from the past. However, rather than rehashing another predictable, well-known story, it has an honest story, which, when combined with the near-obsolete genre of jazz musical, has a lovely effect and is so fresh from what you seem today that it seems strangely, new. This is also attributed to the beautiful use of colour and visuals, smooth, old-style camera-work, unexpected plot/editing, and just the right amount of special effects to make it special.
Note:

I love how the film was set in modern times. It was more than trying to be an old Hollywood film by strictly copying how old films were made - special effects are used in some sequences to add to the magic - La La Land was about taking the best parts of great films and moving forward. Although I really enjoyed the black and white silent film The Artist, it would have been even more interesting (though doubly challenging to make) to see the traditional style work in a modern day setting.