Some vocal, cynical bloggers might disagree, but “The Artist” was the best film of 2011. (Going down my list, “Tree of Life” earned the Silver medal, “The Descendants” settled for the bronze.) I was overjoyed when ‘Artist’ won Best Picture. This ALMOST made up for the debacle involving “The Kings Speech” winning Best Picture over “The Social Network.” (Let’s not go down that road.) Here is what the press release courtesy of Weinstein has to say:
May 7, 2012 – New York, NY –The Weinstein Company announced today the re-release of Academy Award® Best Picture winner THE ARTIST nationwide this Friday, May 11, 2012. This will be the last chance for moviegoers to experience the 5 time Academy Award® winning love letter to films in a movie theater – the way it was intended to be experienced, and it is the perfect opportunity for a Mother’s Day outing.
Said TWC President of Marketing Stephen Bruno, “As Summer approaches, we wanted to give audiences across the country one more opportunity to experience THE ARTIST in a theater where it has charmed and entertained so many this year. This is the perfect family outing for Mother’s Day weekend.”
THE ARTIST is the winner of five Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Score and Best Costume Design. It is the recipient of three Golden Globe® Awards – more than any other picture – including Best Comedy, Best Actor and Best Score. Jean Dujardin also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, and the film won the Directors Guild of America’s pick for Best Feature Film.
I highly recommend cinephiles catch “The Artist” in theaters one last time. It feels so appropriate to experience the film on a 35 MM print in a theater. The silent, black & white French film was whimsical, enchanting, and captivating. Usually, I will briefly check my phone to see what time it is. I can get bored with most films I watch. Of the three times I watched “The Artist,” not once did I check my phone nor even go to the bathroom. I was that entranced to the detail of the film. The film’s score grabbed my attention, the acting was poignant, and a scene stealing, spunky dog melted my heart. Uggie was incredible. After the film festival screening of ‘The Artist,’ I immediately called my father to tell him I wanted a Jack Russell Terrier for Christmas.
For me, this cinematic masterpiece such as “The Artist” was an unintended allegory for an Entertainment industry caught at a technologically altering crossroad. In an era of 21st century Hollywood consumed with superficial digital projection, mass appeal tent projects, lame 3-D and calculated marketing, a movie such as “The Artist” returns the old fashioned art of film to purity. The cynics who dismissed this as a “gimmick” really only saw a nostalgic throw back to old school movie making. I saw multiple layers of story as actors and filmmakers in need to adapt to the changing technologies. This applies today. Clearly, history repeats itself. I hope the down-on-its-luck industry I love has its comeback like George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) at the end of “The Artist.”
