Credits: screenplay: Damien Chazelle; director of photography: Damien Chazelle; editor: Damien Chazelle; music: Justin Hurwitz; sound: Geof Thurber; producer: Jasmine McGlade; production: A Damien Chazelle Presentation;

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Running time: 82

Colour: Black & White

Format: HD CAM (HDTV)

Chazelle’s American indie film was shot in black and white in Boston and New York. It is cinema as music, both in topic and in form, a blend of classical Hollywood musical, New Wave homage to the Hollywood musical, beatnik movie, city symphony film, and handheld camera verite—all colored by a Cassavetes-like sensibility. Some characters sing their parts: It’s ballsy, but it works. The narrative isn’t heavy, it’s more like…jazz, or blues, the three main characters living life as best they can and rolling with the punches. Justin Hurwitz’s score is exceptional, and lead Jason Palmer plays a mean trumpet. Howard Feinstein