A lost world reemerges

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2012)

The cessation of silent films, Leslie Wood acknowledged in her book "Romance of the Movies," is a tragedy which "will probably not last." Thus sounded her prediction in 1935; by that time, five years had passed since silent films were declared prehistoric, but Wood was still bold enough to estimate its possibilities of a comeback as probable. Sadly, in this case being bold was being far too bold. Although there has emerged certain film-makers since that time confident (and powerful) enough to make films visibly influenced by the silents, such as Jacques Tati, 'silent films' has remained a term to define a bygone era. I suppose Michel Hazanavicius' THE ARTIST came as a slight surprise to most of us, then; even more unexpected was its commercial success. But the one thing that truly astounded me was how the film managed to give me that same explicit, unexplainable "feeling" which my favorite authentic silents do; witty in some places and dark in others, THE ARTIST reminded me of just why I love silent films so much.
The story is quite easy to summarize. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is one of motion- pictures' hottest attractions, handsome and irresistibly charming in high-budget adventure films of the day (obvious Douglas Fairbanks-association here). However, his success seems doomed after the arrival of "talkies" towards the end of the 1920's, combined with the outburst of the Great Depression. As his own popularity fades, a young actress whom he once helped rises to superstardom; Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) is declared the new "sweetheart" of the movies, as she fondly embraces the new aspect of the medium (her charm brings Clara Bow to mind). However, she has not forgotten how Valentin once helped her; and there, in essence, is your story. The relationship between John Gilbert and Greta Garbo is an inevitable association; Gilbert had enjoyed a phenomenal career as a leading actor during the late silent era, but vanished from the screen after it turned out that his voice did not match his image (or so, at least, the official story goes). Garbo made him do a comeback, albeit with limited results.
Some reviewers of THE ARTIST have objected to the apparent simplicity of its plot, claiming that the sole reason for its success has to do with its status as a novelty. This claim, I think, misses the whole point; yes, the story of a fading celebrity is very basic, and hardly new (Chaplin's film LIMELIGHT comes to mind, as well as Hjalmar Bergman's 1930's novel "Jac the Clown"). But THE ARTIST would never have achieved such success as it has only due to an aspect of freshness; a less clever director could easily have ended up doing a parody on the medium, and thus provided more nutrition to the myth that silent films merely consist of funny-lookin' jabbernowls running at an impossibly high speed-rate. Despite some meta-references to the medium of silent films throughout (a title card saying "BANG!" being one example), director Hazanavicius has not made a parody, but a beautiful film which made me laugh in some parts, and so teary-eyed in others I almost felt pathetic. By using a relatively simple story as its foundation, Hazanavicius demonstrates that 'silent films,' contrary to common belief, is an art form that deserves to be evaluated on its own terms, rather than being viewed as a primitive fore-runner to talking pictures. For if the depth is not so dominant within the story, it is certainly present in the visual narrative; every shot, angle and gesture is significant, and both the witty comedies of King Vidor (THE PATSY and SHOW PEOPLE, both 1928) and the expressionistic work of F.W. Murnau frequently come to mind. The performers are of equal importance, of course, and both Dujardin and Bejo are phenomenal, sensitive and extremely charismatic at the same time. A special mention should also go to Valentin's dog; both Rin-Tin-Tin and Roscoe Arbuckle's Luke the Dog would have bowed in respect.
One final question worth asking, perhaps, is whether Leslie Wood's prediction, that silent films are likely to reappear on a regular basis again, will come true after the success of THE ARTIST? Probably not. But at the very least, I do hope the film will encourage more people to seek out the very best silent films. If you cared for THE ARTIST, I see no reason why you would not appreciate films such as THE BIG PARADE (1925), SUNRISE: A LOVE STORY (1927) or THE CROWD (1928). By the mid-1920's, the best of film actors and directors had, once and for all, begun to trust the intelligence of viewers; understatement had become the trend in pantomime, whereas directors less relied on title- cards, instead more often conveying depth and subtle nuances through purely visual expression. Much of this was sadly lost again when talkies arrived, as all too many film- makers then adopted a use of dialogue reminiscent of the exaggerated frequency of title- cards in the early silent days. Of course, thanks to CITIZEN KANE and a handful of other films, visual experimentation was eventually re-discovered, but THE ARTIST still reminds us that while talkies may have lots of advantages, the decline of silent films was indeed a very sorry thing.