City of Gold (Laura Gabbert, 2015): USA

Reviewed by Martin Hutchinson. Viewed at the Lobero Theater, Santa Barbara.

City of Gold by Laura Gabbert is as much an ode to LA as it is to its foremost food critic Jonathon Gold. In fact, according the director herself, the notoriously elusive and dilatory Los Angeles Times critic would only agree to join the project on the condition that the film would be equally (if not more so) about the city rather than about the man himself. Gabbert is able to document both with an artist’s eye and a local’s touch.

The film follows the eponymous critic as he crisscrosses the city in the never ending search for culinary excellence. We follow along in the writer’s endearing jalopy to Koreatown, Alhambra, and downtown among several other neighborhoods. Interviews with the cooks, contemporary critics, and Gold himself shed light on the gastronomic secrets of Los Angeles. However the film doesn’t only deal with food, in the latter half of the film by exploring Jonathon’s earlier exploits as a music critic and punk rocker we delve further into the heart of what makes Los Angeles a more exciting and cultured place than most tourists might perceive.

What drives the film visually is the stunning cinematographic work by Kriss Kapp. In many sequences Gold pithily describes his insights, feelings and conclusions about Los Angeles culture both culinary and otherwise. These narrated words, powerful enough in text, are given the necessary supplementation in film with cinematography that matches the words’ reverence for the city. One technique used often to great effect is the shot from a car window as the car moves along at a leisurely rush hour pace. This method puts the viewer in the perspective of a passenger lazily peering out, soaking up the pulse of the city. Many other similar scenes do full justice to the majesty as well as the mundanity of LA.

This film is essential viewing for those interested in both Los Angeles and cuisine. It is still highly recommended viewing even if you don’t particularly like Los Angeles; chances are you’ve never seen it like this.