A sharp, sprawling, and cunningly funny documentary-essay that reexamines how Los Angeles has been portrayed on screen, and how those portrayals have shaped public perception of the city itself. I love how it pieces together clips from hundreds of movies, from noir classics to action blockbusters, to show how L.A. has been used, misrepresented, and mythologized by the film industry that calls it home. It’s not just a love letter or a takedown - it’s both. Andersen critiques how the city’s architecture and neighborhoods are often distorted or erased in favor of cinematic convenience. We also learn how the physical layout of L.A. has shaped these very movies, e.g. villain lairs in the Hollywood Hills, car chases in Downtown L.A. But beneath the academic tone is a real affection for the city’s strange contradictions and layered identity. It’s a film about movies, sure - but more than that, it’s about how storytelling shapes the places we think we know.