George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) They change each other’s lives in “The Artist” winner of Golden Globes Best Picture-Comedy or Musical and Best Actor-Jean Dujardin. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

Written by

Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

Peppy (Berenice Bejo) knocks on the door to George’s (Jean Dujardin) dressing room when no one answers she lets herself in. To the corner of the room she sees his coat and is drawn to it. Her hands fall on the material and her arms hug the garment as if it was George. She slips her right hand into a sleeve and hugs herself pretending that he was holding her and talks to the coat. George gets to the doorway and sees Peppy, but he watches quietly, wanting to know and hear what else Peppy has to say. Their love affair is central to a touching film that captures a long lost era of movies.

Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) pretends the coat is George. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

The Artist by French director Michel Hazanavicius reaped Best Motion Picture (comedy or musical) and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) at the Golden Globes. The film debuted in Asia recently as the opening film of 1^st Rendezvous with French Cinema held in Singapore.  The film is homage to old Hollywood glamour that originated in the silent era. And the story is set at the cusp when the cinematic world was transitioning to sound. It makes a modern day audience fall in love with old style movie making. In that way it not only honors that period but also reminds us of why film affects us so deeply.

“The Artist” by French director Michel Hazanavicius reaped Best Motion Picture (comedy or musical), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Best Original Score (Ludovic Bource) at the Golden Globes. “The Artist” debuted in Asia recently as the opening film of 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held in Singapore near the Marina Bay sands.

It seems trivial now but the change was truly revolutionary. And the directorial treatment reflected this. The film was not only in black and white but also had inter titles. These are the texts in between cuts that used to express dialogue. The technique makes good use of silence to emphasize what the characters are going through. When sound does come in it becomes a magical experience. And duplicates how people used to silent films must have felt the first time they heard sound with their movie.

Jean Dujardin won a Best Actor in (Motion Picture-Comedy or musical) for his role as George Valentin. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

George Valentin played by Jean Dujardin was already a huge star of the silent era. The character may have also been loosely based on the real silent era star Rudolph Valentino who had an Italian father and a French mother. Dujardin on the other hand has the same beaming smile, dark hair and facial structure of Hollywood icon Gene Kelly. The resemblance is unmistakable in this film as there are quite a few tap dance routines, which made Kelly famous. This may be the only title for Dujardin for him to learn and perform those moves and that makes it even more impressive. He was able to show a natural ease that comes with years of dancing.

Peppy Miller gives a hi tech radio interview. James Cromwell is the faithful and kind driver Clifton on the left hand corner of this photo. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

Peppy Miller played by Berenice Bejo is a shortened version of another cast member’s name: Penelope Ann Miller. The name sounds very much like her character, a young, bright, attractive and kindhearted actress. She also represents the new wave of talent from talkies that overwhelm the stars of the silent era. In real life Bejo is the wife of director Michel Hazanavicius both of them were in Manila in 2008. They were in town to promote their film OSS 117 which also had Jean Dujardin as the quirky and ambiguously gay spy.

John Goodman played producer Al Zimmer. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

Since the film is set in Hollywood, other cast members were composed of skillful actors.  A thinner, older John Goodman is the larger than life producer Al Zimmer. James Cromwell is the faithful driver Clifton. Penelope Ann Miller is the distant wife Doris. One of the arguments that George is based on Rudolph Valentino is his relationship with Doris. Valentino had also been in a loveless marriage with Jean Acker whom he did not know was a lesbian. In The Artist however, it was more just a mutual indifference that was established. Keep a sharp eye out for the minor roles as they have quite a few noted actors. Malcolm MacDowell was the butler and “Dharma and Greg” star Joel Murray was a clumsy cop.

John Goodman played producer Al Zimmer. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.

The film also touches into the Great Depression in the 1930s and how it affected the industry. George Valentin is the artist who never wanted to compromise his view of movies. Valentino had the same struggles; he wanted creative control over a higher paycheck. The Artist was able to put together a great story creatively and tell it in a touching way. We learn that there are things more important than either art or movies. No matter how tragic life gets, love conquers all.

Distinguished actors were cast in minor roles like Malcolm Macdowell, who was the butler. “The Artist” had an Asian premiere at the 1st Rendezvous with French Cinema held last December at Singapore near the Marina Bay Sands.