We are just a step away from bidding farewell to the most brutal summer of recent years and welcoming the sweetest season of the year, autumn. Of course, practically speaking, autumn might no longer exist—just like spring—because, after all, climate change is a hoax and ecology is a fiasco. But we gaslight ourselves into believing in their existence because we need something to hold onto on this floating rock, after all.
I don't know about you, but for me, cool autumn evenings are synonymous with musicals. Probably the most underrated film genre, which, despite being one of the purest forms of cinema, somehow has a stigma surrounding it. It doesn’t matter, they're the ones missing out.
The field is admittedly rich, but what are your three favorite musicals, the ones that marked you, and why?
I'll start by choosing:
La La Land (2016), Damien Chazelle
I don't know where to (even) begin. I could rant endlessly about how great a movie it is, how much I love it, but that would end up losing its meaning. La La Land is the gray matter of cinema, every frame is literally a picture, the emotions are in overdrive throughout, and the takeaway is one of the most important lessons. There is no “what if,” you don't play the hand you could have had, but the one you were dealt.
New York, New York (1977), Martin Scorsese
In my mind, I've always compared New York, New York to Singin' in the Rain, in the sense that both are essentially love letters to two cities, because as far as the latter is concerned, Hollywood cannot be imagined without Los Angeles. More so, though, because—in my view—both contain the two greatest songs ever heard in a film: New York, New York performed by Liza Minnelli (and made even more famous by Sinatra) and Singin' in the Rain with Gene Kelly’s performance. However, I think the Metropolis and the absolute cinema of Scorsese slightly prevail.
Dreamgirls (2006), Bill Condon
The first musical I ever watched in a cinema. I don't think much analysis is needed. Beyoncé at the peak of her solo career, having also released the masterpiece B'Day that same year, in the best film she ever participated in. Those of us who love Motown music find a piece of ourselves in Dreamgirls
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