The Magic That Was Lost

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2012)

This movie is special. Every now and then, a movie comes along that captures the magic behind cinema, but this film does even more than that. With hundreds of movies made every year, and many of those blockbusters, it is easy to forget film is an art form - and one of the newest at that. Films, before sound, had to rely on music and intensely physical acting to convey everything from plot to emotions, but now the words thrown at us are becoming less and less meaningful, which make the images less meaningful as well. Silent films are a small part of film history when looking at time, but when you consider that without silent films, 'talkies' would've never been possible, silent films are about important as film history gets.
What makes speech so much more compelling? It allows us to know rather than infer. But in this process, we lose a connection to the film. When someone says 'I love you' in a movie, we tend to focus on the words and miss out on subtleties in characters. In my opinion, inference is a much more important skill - and in a way, this movie may speak to why people nowadays tend towards social ineptness (that is, lack of attention to detail, perhaps through sensory overload).
In this movie, you are forced to watch real acting, in fact - it may just redefine how you watch movies (with an increased focus on the actor/actress's abilities, that is). Beware.
The performances were shockingly perfect in this movie, and I found myself smiling brightly and even shed a tear or two. Yes, the editing, writing, plot and direction leave some to be desired, but that is how most movies were back then - it is much more like a general homage to that era than a perfect silent film (of which, there were only a few).
Also, the dog is amazing in his (pun intended) tiny role.
This film is a love letter to film making, to nostalgia, and mostly, to love itself. Whether you love silent films, an actress, or a dog, love is universal - and losing it hurts, but it is when we dig deep and find the courage to love again that we find the most rewarding experiences. If you don't get that from watching it, you weren't really watching.