If you freeze frame at this precise moment in “La La Land”, you can see a nod to a classic of French cinema.
La La Land is a tribute to the great musical comedies of cinema as well as a unique story, that of two aspiring artists seeking to make themselves known in Hollywood, played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in front of Damien Chazelle’s camera.
And if the latter had admitted to us that his favorite scene came from the musical film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, he took advantage of La La Land to slip in several nods and homages to this Jacques Demy feature film that he loves. And in particular this one:
A nod to a French film whose name you know
If you pause the images at exactly 59 minutes of the film, you will see that Mia (Emma Stone) is writing a dialogue in her diary for a character named Geneviève. This first name is that worn by the heroine of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, played by Catherine Deneuve.
SND The writings remain
But there are others!
This is not the only wink, since at the end of the two feature films, we find a white gas station with red stripes:
SND A well-known gas station
And when Sebastian and Mia turn to look at a window, we can see that the shop below sells… umbrellas, and that it’s written in French! So many clues which no longer cast doubt on whether they were put in La La Land by chance or not.
SND The Umbrellas of Hollywood
Filmed for a budget of $30 million, La La Land was a great success upon its release, grossing $447.4 million in total 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 Music for Justin Hurwitz.