For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - The Artist
The Impression:
I’m a new convert to silent films. The idea of films without
conversation is such a difficult one for me to wrap my head
around, I often times just skip over them altogether. A
modern take on the silent film? I don’t know, sounds
conceptual and sounds boring.
The Reality:
The Artist is one of the best movies of the year.
Don’t go in to this film thinking it’s going to be just an
homage to the great silent films of all time (which it is)
or just a beautiful piece of modern day black and white
filmmaking (it also is this) or a decidedly cinematic piece
of work that will only play to the more cinephillic viewers
(which it is not). The Artist is a exceptionally put
together look at the drastic change in film that occurred
after the advent of sound. It features a stunning
performance by Jean DuJardin as George Valentin, a huge
silent star who won’t move along with the coming trend of
sound, and is knocked from his perch because of it. Only
because of the intervention of a beautiful rising star of
sound films (Berenice Bejo) is Valentin able to get back on
his feet. There are so many amazing scenes in this film that
I could fill a page about them but I’ll tip my hat to two:
the flubbed cuts that lead to the initial romance between
Peppy Miller (Bejo) and Mr. Valentin - so effortlessly
beautiful - and the jarringly metaphysical dream sequence
where we first learn of Valentin’s fear of sound. They are
different sides of the spectrum but director Michel
Hazanavicus handles both with aplomb. Hell, he handles the
entire movie with aplomb, crafting a darling homage to a
time past and one of the best romances of the last ten
years.
The Lesson:
Don’t listen to Noah’s first instinct. It’s always wrong.
- Noah Sanders
-
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
Creative Commons License.
