# 5 - The Artist

Year of Release: 2012
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, Uggie

"Farewell, Nora. I never loved you ..."

This movie was like a big piece of candy that I got to eat. I will say that most people [people with no tolerance for subtitles/inter titles or Black and White Films] might not like this movie at all. It was a little dry and somewhat dated [because of it being an homage to silent films], but that is what made it so wonderful.

I saw two movies the week that I watched The Artist. The other movie that I saw was Underworld:Awakening. The two movies were very different and it was a nice surprise to watch a movie that was not trying to dazzle me with special effects or to get me to buy the trendy songs on their soundtrack. When my friend Laura and I walked into the theater, we were the youngest people there by at least ten years. The majority of the audience may have enjoyed silent films in their childhood, from what I could see. They had one leg up on us in that regard: not only did they know what they were in for, they were excited about it.

There is music for a good portion of the film, but there are still times when everything is silent. You could have heard a pin drop in that theater [or a gentleman behind us snoring. I think that the afternoon showing was just too much for him].

Jean Dujardin was incredibly charming. Even though his character's wife liked to deface the pictures of her husband, I could not see how anyone would dislike such a man. Berenice Bejo was lovely and spunky as "Peppy Miller", the aspiring actress. And the dog ... that scene stealing dog! Laura would have gladly taken him home if he had been in the theater.

I love old movies and would gladly go see pretty much any homage to the films of the early 1900's, but of course not everyone is as nostalgic for the times before they were born. This movie was still funny, even by today's standards [Laura and I laughed. I hope that counts].

The story may be as old as the film industry itself [see A Star is Born with Janet Gaynor ... beautiful film], with the fading actor meeting the bright new ingenue, but it still felt fresh.

Bonus: There are a ridiculous amount of well-known actors in cameos [coughMalcolmMcDowellcough] and in supporting roles [Missi Pyle, John Goodman, "That Guy" James Cromwell].

To Sum Up: If you are older or just love older movies [like me] check it out, for real. If you don't like older movies, you should still give it a shot. That dog is really funny.