“La La Land” is a film that suspends reality, immersing viewers in a world in which ordinary people easily drift into song, time stops for a girl to make a breathtaking solo at a pool party, and a blossoming love story unfolds in tap dance and song on a mountaintop parking lot. Following Sebastian, (played by Ryan Gosling), an aspiring jazz club owner and talented jazz pianist, and Mia (played by Emma Stone), an actress striving to make it big, “La La Land” is a boy meets girl story tracking both characters as they follow their dreams of making-it in Los Angeles.

Writer and director of the Academy Award winning film “Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle with “La La Land” transports audiences to the wonder movie goers experienced with classics such as “Singin’ in the Rain” and “An American in Paris.” Chazelle awakens old Hollywood in an original script and song. Chazelle and songwriter Justin Hurwitz, were roommates at Harvard University, had been discussing “La La Land” for close to 12 years since Chazelle first became infatuated with musicals in movies.

Musicals are hardly ever in contemporary cinema, and so to ease the tension of a musical movie, “La La Land”’s opening scene is in astounding color, unfolding on a hot Los Angeles freeway, the blaring honking of cars suddenly changing into a standout musical number of “Another Day in the Sun.” The lyrics, if listened to closely enough, presage the rest of the story: soon come songs that bridge the two characters, and spread a spotlight on what each character is aspiring to be.

“La La Land” rewinds and retraces time in the opening scenes to track Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, joining in the middle to play out their lives, and breaking once again in the end to see how they pursued their dreams. This film conveys breathtaking images of everyday LA, pink skies, glittering blue swimming pools, a stunning yellow dress, and the dark starry night of the Planetarium. These phenomenally shot and composed scenes, when coupled with the intimate moments of Gosling and Stone touching hands for the first time, being interrupted as they are about to kiss, taking walks through the film studio, and courting via a honking a horn, become the things of dreams. The musical numbers become more intimate as the film progresses, from the opening big number to the close up moments on the struggles and hardships of bad gigs and zero callbacks.

There is a certain romanticism about the film, conveyed through Los Angeles, jazz, movies, and love. “La La Land” pays homage to both old Hollywood and classic jazz. The film itself questions how to be traditional and yet refresh a medium. Much as Sebastian comments on jazz, “It’s conflict and it’s compromise and it’s very very exciting,” “La La Land” comments on film itself. It’s startlingly fresh, beautiful, and inspiring. The ending of the film is unexpected but perfect for the reality of show business in Los Angeles.

“La La Land” is critically acclaimed, with 14 Oscar nominations. In a troubling time in America, “La La Land” provides an escape into wonder, imagination, dreams, love, and passion that has struck a chord in viewers everywhere. “La La Land” is a cinematic masterpiece that highlights the good and the beautiful, and asks audience members to strive farther, think bigger, and love harder.