The Artist (2012)

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. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin's world upside-down. The Artist is a good representation of the early 20's and early 30's unfortunately however is also a pretty slow and painfully boring movie that the best perfomance was from the little dog. (3/10)

I wanted to like The Artist more than I did. I love silent movies and I was excited to see this Best Picture winner. However, I may have built it up too much in my mind. It's enjoyable, but it didn't grab me like I expected it to. The cast does a great job, the visuals are beautiful and I love the references and homages to the silent era. The story, however, is overly simplistic and it seems to drag. It may have been my fault, though, I watched it when I was tired -- never a good idea.

The Artist film genuisely have two parts embedded within. First the picture elaborates Hollywood land story. Summon up the idea of Hollywood existence and its life n rules. The rules that the producers are the power not the writers not the makers n the artists. Kinography studios is metaphors of the king of the pictures the lord of Hollywood. His rules, his power. In the ideal world the artist should be the one who creates freely and mostly bohemian with none of all the materialistic aspects. The film portrait rising star journey of an ambitious girl who is in love of the pictures making and dreaming to be a star, just like her idol 'George Valentine' the great artist of silent movies whom his life will take nose dive as he refused to bow for the wind of change and give in up on his art n beliefs. The Artist is a story of dignified human who fights against the odd and swims against the current to be what he really believes in. As simple as it sounds but the film really has great embedded message reflect the real world. As the one of the most incredible scene in the film when "peppy" & "George" meets at Kinography studio on the stairs and the camera shot from behind and George is looking up while talking to peppy after two years from seeing eachother n she tells him she has signed with the studio as a main artist. The wide shot the two of them standing in different level George is going down the stairs while peppy on her way up when they met and the extras are moving up n down all over the screen as this life going in circle. Everyone is in the picture except the studio boss who is always on the top sat at his office waiting n making the next big thing.

I'll be short and unusually sweet.I like the way this movie was made. I like it even more that others have not tried to replicate it since (so far). I'll keep my 'talkies' thank you very much.From a technical side, the 'full screen' aspect ratio didn't take too long to get used to, in part because the film itself didn't take too long to get into. The design of the picture, everything about it, brings you back and allows you to believe. That's the great thing about movies, they can carry you to a time and era you've never experienced just so you can experience it.I noticed right away how 'plain' the set decoration and lighting were back then. It would pain me to light a project like this because it's so simple and dull. The DP, Guillaume Schiffman, did do a fantastic job, and like the actors, had to learn a new technique to do his job I'm sure. It's so simple, it works on every level.About half way through I began to realize how difficult acting in a silent film really is. As an actor in a silent picture you have to work really hard at getting your point across to the audience in actions, and not words; "mugging" as character Peppy Miller puts it. In saying that, the actors in this film would have had to train a little differently at being a silent film actor because all they've ever known are 'talkies' and their training as actors follow that basic necessity of today's movies - sound! In today's world, acting is more than just movement.The Oscar for Best Picture is well deserved. Although this isn't a movie I'll watch over and over, it was a nice switch.