Los Angeles Plays Itself
Composite Score: 84.23
Featuring: Encke King
Director: Thom Andersen
Writer: Thom Andersen
Genres: Documentary, History
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $6,945 worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Los Angeles Plays Itself is Thom Andersen’s film essay about the portrayal and treatment of Los Angeles by Hollywood/the American film industry. Formulated as a voiceover written by Andersen and delivered by Encke King over clips of actual films shot in various Los Angeles locales, the film explores the history of the City of Angels along with Hollywood’s tendency to alter, destroy, or erase all or part of it whenever they make films. In particular, Andersen delivers a fairly strong critique of Hollywood’s erasure of certain minority communities within Los Angeles and its assumption that everyone living in Los Angeles wants to break into show business. For film nerds, history buffs, and film history buff nerds, this film presents a fascinating look at the topic of Los Angeles within cinematic history – even without references to all the other films that have been made about/set in the city since the documentary’s release in 2003.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
The biggest downside of Los Angeles Plays Itself is the nature of its storytelling device – showing scenes from existing films to back up the points being made by the voiceover. What ends up happening within this device is the spoiling of a few films that its audience may or may not have seen yet. The endings (some of which are a bit unexpected and/or unconventional) of Blade Runner, Sunset Boulevard, Chinatown, and L.A. Confidential (which Andersen seems to particularly detest) all find themselves explicitly put on display in this documentary. There’s other films with major plot points or moments featured, but those four have the majority of their climactic moments fully spoiled for anyone who watches this film without having seen them. The spoilers lend the film a feeling of subjectivity that you don’t often explicitly get when watching a documentary, as it feels like a targeted spoiling of certain films while treating the plots and endings of some of its other films with delicacy and vagueness of a critic avoiding spoilers. Obviously, all films and film critiques are subjective, but watching a film that spoils other films while keeping others mysterious and yet-to-be-discovered, one gets the feeling that Andersen was intentionally vindictive in his scene choices.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Spoilers aside, the format of Los Angeles Plays Itself makes for a highly compelling documentary/film essay – drawing the audience in with familiarity and offering them a new perspective on those comfortable films. The historical aspect of the film combines with its commentary on Hollywood’s treatment of its hometown and a compelling message about the erasure of minorities in Los Angeles through the film industry to create a truly unique film. By showcasing independent, minority-led films next to trash action films and prestige dramas, Andersen creates an egalitarian view of film rarely seen in the industry. All films have something of value to offer for Andersen. Even though he might prefer some to others, they all are given their due in making his many points about Los Angeles and its connections to Hollywood and the film industry.
Andersen’s opus on the use, portrayal, and erasure of Los Angeles by the Hollywood film industry offers a unique perspective on that particular aspect of film history and film culture, inserting itself through a use of great films into a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Andersen’s biased filmmaking and spoiler-filled clips can be frustrating if you aren’t ready for it, but it remains an unforgettable piece of filmmaking. It is currently available to stream on Mubi or to rent on most other streaming services.