La la land, yes, that movie that made history by almost winning the Best Picture at the Oscars in 2017.

There are many movies that become favourites to win that coveted award. But sometimes the favourites don’t win, someone else steals a march. But none of them get on the stage, start their winning speech and then….. be told the whole thing is a big mistake and the winner is someone else.

What? You do not believe me? Here is the proof!

Not to take away anything from this one, it did win quite a few oscars that day including: Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Quite a handful. Apart from the Oscars, this film also won many other awards too.

La La Land is a musical with great songs and dance numbers. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the lead. Emma plays an aspiring actress and Ryan plays a struggling jazz pianist. They meet, fall in love, encourage each other to pursue their dreams, and make it big. But in the pursuit of their dreams they are torn apart. It is a beautifully shot movie.

My elder daughter wanted to see this movie when it was first released but it clashed with her exam dates. So she missed it. When she later found it on Amazon Prime, she saw it and has been a fan of it since then. She wanted me to see it, but somehow I could not at that time.

My younger daughter too saw snatches of the movie with her, but her opinion was totally opposite to that of her sister’s. She totally dissed it.

Now, I unwittingly became a referee between them and I kept postponing my viewing for some or the other reason.

Then A2Z rolled along and I thought of the theme of movies and memories. I drew a blank at the letter L. There are some movies that I have seen that begin with that letter, but none worthy enough for this list. Most did not have any memory or impact to go with them. They were just run-of-the-mill stuff.

So here I was, watching La La Land, serving two purposes. One to get something to write for today and another to settle a dispute.

My verdict: (drumroll please!)

It is quite an enjoyable movie with good looking people in it. The screenplay is crisp and the dance number with the lead actors is quite nice.

My younger daughter too saw it again with me. Though this time she did not hate it, she still cannot like the fact that the protagonists broke up. She feels that the ending should have been different.

The A2Z challenge 2019 is going to be all the movies that have left an impact on me someway or the other. Some have made me think. Some that I like a lot, some that I really hated. But all of them have left a memory behind which makes the movie more special than the rest. They may not be all classics or iconic but they are close to my heart.

A is for Andhadhun. B is for Bazaar. C is for Conan, the Barbarian. D is for Dushman. E is for Enter the Dragon. F is for Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them.G is for Galimathu.H is for Hidden Figures. I is for Ishq.J is for Jaane bhi do yaaron.K is for Kshana Kshanam.