Sublime

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2012)

"The Artist" is a true cinematic achievement. In this day and age of CGI effects, color, 3-D and wide screen, here is a film done for all practical purposes, like a film made in 1928. This is so well-made it hard to know where to begin. The music score has the sound of an actual Vitaphone score from the period. In particular, some of the score reminded me of "The Jazz Singer". The narrow-screen aspect and evocative black-and-white photography added to the vintage atmosphere the makers were trying to convey. The players are all excellent, and wow! Can the two leads dance? Watch them! It took me about a month to see this because it did not play at all in Chicago for the first month of it's limited release. At the end of the screening, the audience actually applauded. Something I haven't seen in a long time. The appreciation by the audience made me think that if a contemporary audience can enjoy this, they may not avoid some of the other classic silent films that are still available to be enjoyed. So "The Artist", great film that it is on it's own could serve as a trailer for those uninitiated to the joys of the silent classics.