The Artist... or go back to the basics

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2012)

It's kind of ironic that in 21st. century in which the movie industry has saturated the cinema with technologies such as 3D and complex visual effects, a silent, black and white movie happens to be the one that won the Oscar for best picture in 2011. Many think that complies with the criteria and the age of most members of the Academy and although The Artist indeed appeals to nostalgia is an Oscar-worthy work.
Reminiscent of classics like A star is born and Singin' in the rain, The Artist goes back to 1927, when George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is one of the most important stars of silent films and nothing seems to stop his splendor. On the other hand Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) is an aspiring young actress who, thanks to a series of coincidences starts a film career with the support of George. However, the situation of both will give a 360 ° turn with the advent of talkies, as the rejection of George to make talkies seems to condemn him into oblivion, while Peppy becomes a star. As if this were not enough, the financial crisis of 1929 hits George's interests severely, although Peppy will try to help him in one way or another.
Although there have been approaches to storytelling without using dialogs in recent years (eg WALL*E or The Triplets of Belleville), no one had taken the risk of shooting a film in the same way they were made in the early years of cinema. The credit belongs to french director Michel Hazanavicius who takes such a risk by telling a story that has been told more than once in a risky format with the possibility of feeling outdated for the new generations, but the result is extremely fresh and charming. Although much of the charm (and the success of the film) has a name: Jean Dujardin: an actor with an overwhelming charisma who surpasses the challenge of conveying all the emotions being experienced by George without saying a single word (not in vain his performance earned him an Oscar). Along him Berenice Bejo also delivers a remarkable performance and devoid of artifice in which both could easily have fallen, plus their on-screen chemistry is remarkable and possibly the impact of the film with other actors would have been different.
A noteworthy aspect is the recreation of the decade of the 20's and early 30's, including the Oscar-winning music written by Ludovic Bource, which contributes to creating the atmosphere that the film aims to create by sticking to the way music was added to silent films.
However, the only "but" to this movie is Uggie, George's faithful pet and if it is a crucial part in history, feels like a forced element to cause empathy in the audience and looks too trained and that takes away spontaneity.
In short, the artist turns out to be a return to an extinct type of film that is both innovative and endearing and works as a perfect way to bring silent movies to new generations.