The Artist, 2011

The Artist, 2011
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman,



The Artist in short: Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: "Who's That Girl?" and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin's world upside-down.


Preps: The first one after the Oscar night. Five oscars. The best movie of the year included. I presumed it's a marketing trick and that it's not that good as all claim it is supposed to be. Like the fashion fly you see and you are addicted about a few days, then you are wondering what the hell happened to your intelligent mind to be tricked this way :) But let's see.



Reality: the story is one of the most real ones in any show business /art. There comes a time when the star of the year is jsut a thing of the past. Eaten by time, another star, another style. Dealing with this makes most of artist sway away from their initial energy drive and in most cases they fall to their knees, because they are not willing to adapt. To the trends, to the people, to the show as it is from the new point on.
The divide between the silent movie and the movie as we now it today, was striking through the roof. I am sure the story can be easily placed in that time. I kept wondering who did this Dujardin look like. Then I remembered, he reminded me of one of the greatest clasics, Gone with the Wind and Rhett Buttler (1939 movie; with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, I loved this piece). So I like the guy already. The charm he has, is (I swear) just as if I was watching Gone with the wind, where I absolutely dreamt of meeting a Rhett Buttler for me one day. So I am bought. On the other hand, the first lady in the house, Berenice Bejo, is like Ginger Rogers or some nice exception in Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O' Hara. The energy between the two is seen, noticed, remarkable.
Now, the only thing that a silent movie can be praised and understood upon, is the music. The most important part of the movie, if we don't hear it. What happened with music in this piece, I don't know. But it's the shittiest part of this movie and makes it very average. Such a shame. I believe it might have been truly one of the greatest heroic deeds this time, but because the music doesn't reflect what the charactes are saying, I am pointing my thumbs down. See and judge for yourself. Don't get me wrong. The selection of the music is good. It is not just a lovely music to hear, it's the music to dry your bones of emotions. But the asshole that placed the tunes where they are in scenes, doesn't know what he/she is doing. Because not that they don't back the scenes we are watching, you need to really guess if the couple is fighting or not, are you supposed to feel sorry for someone, etc. The sound doesn't do the job and it's one of my biggest dissappointments in this piece. Don't want to see a silent movie if it doesn't know how to place the music. I am speaking for most of the scenes. In some of them they really took the right piece to back it up. But the most of them are out of tune.
I was dissappointed to the point where I could just walk out of the movie and erase it. There are some brilliant ideas in the movie. The dog. I love it. The fashion. I want to embrace it. The looks of the two main characters. I would love to look like that and to taste like this on big screen. Plus, the energy between them. Like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
Is it a marketing trick? I believe it is. Something different, something we didn't see before. Something the whole world would just stare at, with mouth wide open and yearning of something creative. Anyway, in my eyes, it's not enough. I don't want to guess what the main characters said. The music is supposed to tell me. So I am a bit stubborn and want the whole deal. Plus, the War Horse didn't get a thing, and in my eyes, more than one attribute to win over The Artist.


My personal rating: 6,0 (something new on the market, watchable. I want it to work with music, though. This is why I take a lot of points out of this piece. The story, however, is solid and a classic, the energy between the two is extraordinary).

The Artist on IMDB