The Artist
Dir: Michel Hazanavicius
2011
*****
The Artist has received so much hype in such a short time which isn't always a good thing for a film. Luckily though, you can believe the hype! It's a clever idea, although I'm sure it raised a few eyebrows when first shown to the producers. Those familiar with director Michel Hazanavicius will know to trust him though, OSS 117 looked like a horrible idea on paper but in reality the combination of Hazanavicius's quirky humour and Jean Dujardin's physical comedic abilities made it something special and now they've taken that great chemistry and have made something wonderful. An ode to the silent era, a love letter to the often forgotten stars such as Douglas Fairbanks and Lillian Gish and the golden age of cinema. This isn't just a silent black & white film though, it is filmed beautifully and with some very clever tricks up its sleeve. I think the biggest surprise for me was that it was so funny, the OSS 117 films cracked me up so I'm not sure why I'm surprised but I can't think of the last Oscar winning film that was as funny or was essentially a comedy. I really can't fault it, it's really quite wonderful.