Still playing at the Michigan Theater.... I thought it was quite enjoyable.


This is a French/Belgian co-production that was filmed in Hollywood (there's some great old theater interiors and some clever archival footage usage). It's topical for the class... but I don't want to say exactly how it's topical as there's a nice reveal that I don't want to spoil. (This director/actor team makes wacky French 007 spoofs that are quite funny.)

It will be interesting to see if the academy nominates it for "best foreign language film." It's silent... it's intertitles (in U.S. exhibition) are in English... so technically, it's not a foreign language film.


Here's the Michigan theater blurb:

Nominated for 6 Golden Globes, including Best Picture: Comedy or Musical, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor: Comedy or Musical and Best Supporting Actress!
 
Winner of the prize for Best Actor at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, The Artist is a heartfelt and entertaining valentine to classic American cinema.  Set during the twilight of Hollywood’s silent era and filmed on location at numerous classic Hollywood locations (Mary Pickford's Hancock Park mansion, the Orpheum Theater in downtown L.A., the Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. backlots), The Artist tells the story of a charismatic movie star (Jean Dujardin) unhappily confronting the new world of talking pictures.  Mixing comedy, romance and melodrama, The Artist is itself an example of the form it celebrates: a black-and-white silent film that relies on images, actors and music to weave its singular spell.  The film has already garnered accolades on critics’ lists and film festivals worldwide, and is expected to receive numerous Academy Award nominations on January 24.

See The Artist in our classic movie palace!

"What I love is to create a show and for people to enjoy it and be aware that's what it is - a show. I'm interested in the stylization of reality, the possibility of playing with codes. That's how this idea of a film set in the Hollywood of the late '20s and early '30s, in black and white, was formed." - Michel Hazanavicius, Director

100 minutes. Rated PG-13. Silent.