MULA sa Singin’ in the Rain hanggang sa The Wizard of Oz, hindi gaanong pinapansin sa Oscars ang mga musicals. Ngunit binago ang lahat ng ito ng La La Land.

Sa 14 na nominasyon sa Academy Award kabilang ang best picture, director, actor, actress at screenplay, ang love letter ni Damien Chazelle para sa Los Angeles ay binigyan ng maraming pagkakataon para manalo ng Oscars sa Linggo at muling pinasigla ang musical movies.

“The country is so sad right now and La La Land is the only escapist movie,” saad ni Craig Zadan, co-producer ni Neil Meron sa Chicago, ang huling musical na nanalo ng best picture sa Oscar noong 2002.

“The others are artistically wonderful, but they are not necessarily peppy and boost you into a flight of fancy. The cards are all aligned for this to be the year of the musical again.”

Matagal nang hindi pinapansin ang musicals sa mga pangunahing kategorya ng Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“That’s probably because musicals just aren’t as cool as they used to be and Academy members care a lot about what’s cool,” saad ni Tom O’Neil, founder ng award website na Goldderby.com.

“The miraculous thing about La La Land is that it’s anti-cool — shamelessly and joyously old-fashioned. It’s performing so well with Oscar voters because of its impressive craftsmanship,” dagdag niya.

Sampung musical pa lamang ang nakakapag-uwi ng best picture award sa Oscar sa loob ng 89 na taong kasaysayan ng Academy Awards.

Kabilang sa mga nanalo ang Chicago, The Sound of Music, at West Side Story, ngunit mas mahaba ang listahan ng mga natalo rito. Tulad ng The Wizard of Oz at Singin’ in the Rain, ang screen icon na sina Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, at Judy Garland sa wala ring napanalunang Oscar award.

Inabot ng anim na taon ang direktor na si Chazelle, 32, sa pagsasakatuparan ng La La Land, na may 1950s na musical at napapanahong love story.

“I like to think that it’s providing an emotional experience. That was the goal of the movie — to use the tropes of musical traditions to say something about what it means to be young and in love today, and what it means to be an artist and chase a dream,” saad ni Chazelle. (Reuters)