When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I became so excited for this film. As a fan of classic cinema, I have enjoyed several films from the silent era, particularly those by Charlie Chaplin. When I heard that AFF added this to the film roster, it rose to the top of the films I highly anticipated at the festival. I mainly had positive feelings going into this screening; however, my cynical side also worried that the movie would come across as too cheesy, sappy, and well, gimmicky. Well, I am overjoyed that my positive instincts were correct. THE ARTIST serves as a beautiful homage to classic cinema, particularly silent movies.
Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius takes audiences back to 1927 Hollywood, an era when silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) ruled the big screen. His reign is soon coming to an end though. Warned by his studio heads that talkies will take over, the prideful Valentin refuses to change with the times. Before he becomes obsolete, he meets a talented young dancer named Peppy Miller (the beautiful and radiant Berenice Bejo) whose own stardom eventually eclipses that of Valentin as she becomes the fresh face of the talkies.
I absolutely loved this movie. I not only consider this film one of my favorites of the year, but one of my favorites of all time. Hazanavicius does amazing work recreating that classic look and feel of movies in film's glorious younger days. I must applaud the gorgeous cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman and the music by Ludovic Bource which really add to the experience. The superb performances by Dujardin, Bejo, and their supporting cast which includes John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Penelope Ann Miller help Hazanavicius create a masterpiece which deserves to be dubbed as an instant classic. I must highly recommend this motion picture to all lovers of classic cinema.
Mark Saldana
The Movie Doc
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