Very recently I watched a French film called The Artist. It’s a modern-day black-and-white “silent” film. I put silent in quotes because there actually is a soundtrack. However, it’s mostly orchestral music; dialog is silent and actors’ words appear on title cards.
The Artist is a comedy-drama. It’s about silent movies, and talking movies, and stars caught in the transition. It’s also about romance and true love.
At first I found myself thinking, “Silent movies suck.” But give the movie time and the actors really draw you into their story. Their performances are outstanding. You can almost forget you’re watching a silent film. And after a time, it doesn’t even matter.
A year ago I watched a movie called The Jazz Singer (I blogged about it here) starring Al Jolson. It was the first feature-length talkie (although most of the movie was still silent). Now I’ve watched what will probably be the last silent movie. The first talking movie and the last silent movie seem like bookends around the movies I’ve seen.
If you go to see The Artist, I think it’s very likely you’ll leave feeling greatly entertained.
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