The movie “Artist” was created for people, who miss the good old days, when all the movies were silent and radical, with a special kind of magic, which made each of them unforgettable. That exactly describes what it is. The movie possesses some sort of nostalgia of the period of silent movies, which touched the heart of each member of the audience. In fact, the movie turned out to be so emotional and passionate that the words seem to be superfluous.
However, when we say “silent” we mean wordless. The movie is still full of noises, old songs in French style with the Hollywood footprints on them. Sir Hazanavicius, who was making this film, made it unique by including magical sounds into the “wild silence”.
These movies called for the interest of both blockbuster lovers and retro fans. Both young students and old couples were curious to see what the 21st century silent movie will be like, and have received a certain bright impression in return.
The story is about George, who got into a hilarious situation with an actress called Peppy Mille; because of his character he is left by himself, without the support of his boss and his wife, having a driver and a dog.
Much attention has been dedicated to the sound of music of this movie. “Singing in the rain”, which is one of the soundtracks of the film opens the doors to the world of old stories and retro romantism. It brings up the feeling of nostalgia, which takes the soul of audience years away.
By the way, some people also call “The Artist” a remake of a movie called “A Star Is Born”, which includes similar plot and creates similar atmosphere.
The producer of the movie has made a great experiment. He combined modern art in the eyes of audience with the old, romantic atmosphere of silent movies. What is more, he did it rather qualitatively, without any defects, which serve as the sigh of oldness.
The movie is absolutely innocent, the only thing that can distract child`s eyes is the prominent smoking, which passes the movie allway long. However, smoking is definitely not a big reason to abandon this movie. It is certainly a minus, but considerably small minus comparing to the all cultural advantages a person may get from watching this small modern piece of art.
The movie has received numerous positive feedbacks from a number of film critiques. It was nominated for many awards, including Golden Globe and The Film Festival in Cannes, Bafta and won in more than seven nominations. In particular, it won the awards all over the world for the best director, actor and screenplay.
The foundation of the plot lays in the story about an actor, named George Valentin, who lived in late 1920s and became famous for a picture made with women, named Peppy Miller. The picture was so expressive that it took the first pages of many famous newspapers the next day. That girl was a dancer, who became famous that day because of this dramatically hilarious picture. She started getting propositions from the directors of film industry and became a well-known actress pretty soon.
In “The Artist” the story repeats. Peppy Miller presses next to famous man named George and in this way she gets into the headline of the newspaper screaming “Who is that girl?”. This is how Peppy wins her glory and this is how this wonderful story starts. This accident also obviously affects her relationships with Mr. Valentine, which makes the film to present a mix of the career and romantic development of this couple.
The director of the movie, Michel Hazanavicius, had been thinking about creating black and white silent movie for many years. He has been fond of “silent industry” and was really determined to create something great, which will include the elements of retro.
He chose actors, who used to play in melodramas, just because black and white movies were mostly presented by melodramas in the days, when they were popular. He did a number of researches to indicate the true atmosphere of silent movies and their history and the results of his researches reflected in his film as in a mirror.
What is extremely interesting is that the film was made in a period of thirty five days and included the music from famous Hollywood movies. The director made everyone feel the miss for the old classical cinematograph, which presented high levels of cinema art.
“The Artist” was released in 2011, and was considered to be the most joyful film of the year. It supported the old customs of movie-making, which became forgotten and turned the whole film industry into a different planet. Returning to an old planet made a fountain of interest throughout the world. Even with a lack of words it called for an explosion of emotions proving that for good actors words are unnecessary.
Dujardin and Bejo, who are the main actors, did a perfect job by initiating their predecessors. They caught the attention of the audience by their brightness, emotionless, energy and romantism. Bejo served as a perfect example of women of that time, and, indeed, she deserved the award of the best actor’s play. Moreover, they made a perfect couple and proved the director’s ability of picking the right actors. Much attention in this movie was also dedicated to the role of dancing. Everything was set just perfect. Dancing on the screen makes everyone, who watches this film, want to dance in reality.
That is the thing; the idea of young couple with an insinuation on romantic feelings always brings fresh interest to the movies. That has happened to “The Artist”. This young couple brought special style to the movie, making everyone fall in love with its atmosphere. Bejo’s smile and Dujardin’s eyes definitely could not be left without any attention.
Everything that happens in “The Artist” happens perfectly, starting with the beginning till the very end. The movie starts with the dance of Peppy and Valentin, which has become a symbol of a gentleman. They are looking at each other with a strong, determined look, which makes the audience gasp in silence.
The plot of the movie progresses dynamically and holds your attention throughout several hours. What is more, “The Artist” is one of those movies, which are possible to watch again and again without feeling sick or bored. It has become one of the favorite movies of both young and old, and left a kind, romantic footstep in the heart of everyone, who has watched it.
It is a wonderful picture, which brings a good experience and the ability to talk about qualitative movies with anyone in the world.
The movie has opened the hearts of the young people towards the old cinema industry and proved that Hollywood is still capable of creating something classical and qualitative. Everything you see in the movie forms a positive mood and makes you believe in true love stories, and well as in true miracles. It is well done work of art, which will surely stay in the memory of everyone, who watches it. Its intoxicating humor will make every heart smile, as well as every pair of eyes cry.