Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius
Staring: Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, Jean Dujardin
Shot in black and white, a debonair comedy and charming love story but so much more. George is an older, established silent movie star at the top of his game in 1927. Peppy is beguiled by him and he helps her start her career in films and sets her on the path to fame. He is teacher, mentor and would be lover. It is a love made impossible by fate and the reversal of status that ensues, as Peppy goes on to embrace ‘talkies’ while George rejects them as a mere fad. George belongs in silent film and the film (The Artist) sides with him by being silent. Form and content coincide in a silent homage to silent film even as it is superseded by sound. One of the most eloquent films ever made.