Damien Chazelle's love for Golden Age of Hollywood is reflected throughout La La Land (2016) which is why it is laden with homages from its opening shot to its grand finale. One such example is when La La Land (2016) pays homage to Academy Award winner Albert Lamorisse’s young boy and The Red Balloon (1956) and Flight of the red balloon (2007) during its "epilogue".
“The body of work that Albert Lamorisse left behind may be small, but his achievement can’t be fully measured in feet of footage. “Astonish me” is advice that was once famously given by a mentor to Jean Cocteau—and the fact that Lamorisse’s filmography contains a great number of astonishing feats makes him akin to that great surrealist, perhaps the French director with whom he had the most in common. Lamorisse gave his illusions the conviction of reality, and he made the real world seem as miraculous as myth. His eye transformed what it fell on, unlocking the extraordinary. His work gets at something central to cinematic pleasure: our urge to see the world represented honestly, and then given a gentle turn into fantasy. “I’m happy,” Lamorisse said, “to have been able to free cinema from earth.”
- David Cairns, “Head in the Clouds: The Cinema of Albert Lamorisse”
Hirak Rajar Deshe (The Kingdom of Diamonds) / Fantasia, 1940 / The Fall / Midnight in Paris / The Discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie / Wild Strawberries / Jennifer's Body / Get Out / My Neighbor Totoro / The Red Balloon