The Artist (2011)

Best Picture Winner 2011

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been MIA, but I am back at school and I need to be a good student...yay studiousness!!  Anyways on other topics...THE OSCARS WERE LAST NIGHT!!! Honestly I haven't seen most of the nominees this year but I was not suprised by The Artist and Hugo taking home most of the gold....that being said its time to dive into the winner itself.

I love silent films, specifically comedy. So when I heard that the french were making a black and white silent film....my pretentiousness alarm went off. I mean come on...we are talking about the FRENCH...making a BLACK AND WHITE...SILENT FILM...needless to say it sounded very forced. However I also hoped for the best...a chance for someone of my generation to go to the theater and laugh at something that has the potential to be as genuinely funny and clever as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton? I am down.

So off I went to with both apprehension of the worst and aspirations for the best and what I think I received was something in the middle. So here is the deal...FILM GEEKS: You will be dissapointed (with varying levels of severity) if you are looking for a modern Charlie Chaplin film. GENERAL MASSES: I think you will be suprised at how much you will actually enjoy a silent film.

Here we have the story of the film industry transitioning from silent to sound and how one generation gets lost in the mix, while another rises. (a la Singing in the Rain, Sunset Blvd)  The acting is infectious, you can't help but smile at the facial expression and the physicality of the actors. Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, and Uggie (the dog), carry the film well. Lets face it, the dog is half the charm and cuteness of this film.

What I found the most fun though was actually the sound! Ironic, I know, but it was the soundtrack and the sound editing that created the cleverness that I appreciated the most. The soundtrack is ridiculously catchy and then beautiful, I was left humming it for hours after the film. Also when sound enters the film it creates jokes and enters for a purpose. The only thing I didn't like is when they brought sound in at the end...I did feel that was a sell out.

Also the editing was quite smart. They got to use some old time tricks with the sound cards which I thought was fun, creating suspense and confusion.  I am sure they had fun doing it.

ONE BIG HOWEVER ON THIS WHOLE POST: This film made me chuckle and some points were cute but this was not the flat out comedies that silent films were or the high drama. It is some kind of ambigous mix that feels like they did not want to commit to either side of the issue. I guess you can argue they were trying to do something new to something old, but I would have prefered to see a true tribute to what silent films were, instead of some confused mixture of genres.  Then, I suspect,  as a whole this movie would have been less gimmicky.

Overall: Watch it. Its only an hour and forty minutes long and its good to branch out and try new things. Especially when they have cute moments and some sharp technical aspects.  I however also implore you to then reach out and watch some actual silent era films. They do stand the test of time and I know you will like them. If you need any reccomendations ask! Happy Watching :)