Winner of so many awards, La La Land is a homage to the lavish musicals of Hollywood's Golden Age infused with the melancholy of contemporary love. Frustrated jazz musician Seb (Ryan Gosling) and barista/aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) are two lost souls adrift in Los Angeles, trying to make their dreams come true. A series of antagonistic chance encounters reveal that despite their differing temperaments the two have chemistry together— so far so romcom. Where their story goes from there is a delicate balance of romance and reality, with moments of magic surfacing as Seb and Mia struggle to reconcile their ambitions with the compromises required to make it in art and life. A gorgeous swooning spectacle, this is one for the dreamers.

Inspired by the gorgeous (and often heartbreaking) films of Jacques Demy and Technicolor MGM classics like An American in Paris, Damien Chazelle filled a need that people didn't know they had for an earnest, heartfelt musical with La La Land. Stone and Gosling unleash their weaponised charm and triple-threat chops in the big show-stoppers before bringing it in to a place of vulnerability, as the effervescence of love is worn down by the grind of making a living. Indulge in a little nostalgia for old Hollywood with a contemporary twist, along with a bittersweet portrait of Los Angeles.