Licorice Pizza

How this film uses it

The film moves through a series of set pieces: the waterbed delivery, the gas crisis, the pinball machines and Jon Peters. Each one is its own little adventure that adds to the portrait of Gary and Alana. None of them pushes toward a conventional plot ending.

Where to see it

The gas crisis sequence with Bradley Cooper's Jon Peters. It is a complete comic adventure that could stand alone. When it ends, the characters are back with each other and nothing between them is settled.

How this film uses it

Michael Bauman and PTA shoot the Valley in the warm, slightly faded colors of 1970s photography. The golden light of the San Fernando Valley summer makes the period feel lived-in.

Where to see it

The Valley's residential streets at golden hour. The light and color match the era so closely that the film pretty much looks like a photograph from 1973 that learned to move.

How this film uses it

Anderson shoots many sequences with a loose handheld camera that trails after the characters. The camera is there as a witness. It catches Alana and Gary in motion, as close as a bystander who happened to have a camera.

Where to see it

The running sequences. Alana and Gary run toward each other at the film's climax, and the handheld camera struggles to keep up. You can physically feel the breathlessness in the image.

How this film uses it

Anderson refuses to define what Alana and Gary are to each other until the very end. Almost everything the film says about their feelings comes through how they behave, how close they stand and the time they spend together.

Where to see it

The final stretch of Alana and Gary running toward each other. They collide outside a movie theater and fall over in a hug. You can read the feeling in the movement before anyone says a word.