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The Artist is a 2011 French romance film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood between 1927 and 1932 and focuses on a declining male film star and a rising actress, as silent cinema grows out of fashion and is replaced by the talkies. The film is itself a silent film and in black-and-white. Dujardin won the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered.

Cast

• Jean Dujardin as George Valentin
• Bérénice Bejo as Peppy Miller
• John Goodman as Al Zimmer
• James Cromwell as Clifton
• Penelope Ann Miller as Doris
• Missi Pyle as Constance
• Ben Kurland as Casting Assistant
• Bitsie Tulloch as Norma

Production

Director Michel Hazanavicius had been fantasizing about making a silent film for many years, both because many filmmakers he admires emerged in the silent era, and because of the image-driven nature of the format. According to Hazanavicius his wish to make a silent film was at first not taken seriously, but after the financial success of his spy-film pastiches OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio, producers started to express interest. The forming of the film's narrative started with Hazanavicius' desire to work again with actors Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, Hazanivicius's wife, who had starred in the OSS 117 films. Hazanavicius chose the form of the melodrama, mostly because he thought many of the films from the silent era which have aged best are melodramas. He did extensive research about 1920s Hollywood, and studied silent films to find the right techniques to make the story comprehensible without having to use too many intertitles. The screenplay took four months to write.

The film was produced by La Petite Reine and ARP Sélection for 13.47 million euro, including co-production support from Studio 37 and France 3 Cinéma, and pre-sales investment from Canal+ and CinéCinéma. Both the cast and crew were mixed French and American.

Filming took place during seven weeks on location in Los Angeles. Throughout the shoot Hazanavicius played music from classic Hollywood films while the actors performed.

Release

The film premiered on 15 May in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. It was initially announced as an out of competition entry, but was moved to the competition a week before the festival opened. The French regular release is set to 12 October 2011 through Warner Bros. France. The Weinstein Company bought the distribution rights for the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The film will be released in the United States on November 23, 2011.

Reception

Mark Adams of Screen Daily called the film "a real pleasure"; "propelled elegantly forward by delightful performances from Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo it is the most unlikely of feel-good movies." He added however: "The film does feel a little sluggish towards the end of the first third as the music is a little repetitive and the intertitles are infrequent, but Hazanavicius manages to give the film a real sense of charm and warmth, and film fans will be competing to spot visual and musical references."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described how the film "had me on my feet cheering throughout the final credits" and stated "I can't wait to see it again".

Geoffrey McNab at The Independent called the film "both a surefire crowdpleaser and a magnificent piece of film-making" in his 5 star review from the Cannes Film Festival.

Daniel Sarath at New In Cinema described the the film as "easily one of the best films of the year" and called it a "roaring and creative crowd-pleaser that will inspire laughter, joy and cheer".

Dujardin won the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actor Award for his performance. The dog actor in the film, Uggy, won the Palm Dog Award for best performance by a canine at the festival.

References

1. ^ "Interview with Michel Hazanavicius" (PDF). English press kit The Artist. Wild Bunch. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
2. Lemercier, Fabien (2011-04-18). "Media frenzy over Sarkozy's election Conquest". Cineuropa. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
3. "Horaires 2011" (PDF). festival-cannes.com (in French). Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
4. Mitchell, Wendy (2011-05-04). "Hazanavicius' The Artist moves into Competition in Cannes". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
5. "The Artist". AlloCiné (in French). Tiger Global. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
6. Tartaglione, 2011-05-16. "Wild Bunch, Weinsteins confirm multi-territory deal on The Artist". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2011-05-22. {{cite web}}: |first= has numeric name (help)
7. Adams, Mark (2011-05-15). "The Artist". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
8. Bradshaw, Peter. "Cannes 2011: The Artist/Michael/Footnote – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 27/10/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
9. McNab, Geoffrey. "The Artist, Cannes Film Festival". The Independent. Retrieved 27/10/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
10. Sarath, Daniel. "LFF: Day Three – The Ides Of March, The Artist and Trishna". New In Cinema. Retrieved 27/10/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
11. Chang, Justin (2011-05-22). "'Tree of Life' wins Palme d'Or". Variety. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
12. Nissim, Mayer (2011-05-21). "'The Artist' Uggy wins 2011 'Palm Dog'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2011-05-21.

External links

• The Artist at IMDb

• 2011 films
• 2010s romance films
• Black-and-white films
• Films directed by Michel Hazanavicius
• Films set in Los Angeles, California
• Films shot in Los Angeles, California
• Films set in the 1920s
• Films set in the 1930s
• French films
• French silent films