- Festivals
Venice Opens Strong with ‘La La Land’
The Venice Film Festival opened with a bang – or rather a shimmy and a song – here in a sunny Lido with the world premiere of La La Land, as Damien Chazelle’s sophomore feature lived up to all of its pre-festival buzz (and augured well for a continuing festival streak). From the long tracking shot that envelops an ensemble dance number that erupts from a traffic jam on a freeway ramp (how has no one ever filmed this before?!), to its fanciful duel ending, the film is both an homage and a fresh updating of the Hollywood musical.