The Artist *****

It's kind of ironic that a tale of the Golden Age of Hollywood like this could only be made outside of Hollywood today - by the French no less.

But it kind of makes sense, when you think about it. It's a day and age where Hollywood is only interested in producing enormous budget tent pole films; and Hollywood doesn't seem to have a lot of respect for its own history, judging by all the sequels and reboots that care more about CGI than story.

The French however have a long history of appreciation for the art form of cinema (they can after all make a strong case for having originated the medium). And that appreciation shines through in spades in the film The Artist.

The Artist tells the story of two actors, one seasoned leading man 'George Valentin', and the other rising starlet 'Peppy Miller', in the early days of motion pictures. The two have a rocky romance complicated by the fact that the man's career is thrown into a tailspin with the advent of 'talkies' just as the woman's begins blossoming. No doubt inspired by similar events in the lives of real stars of the silver screen.

But, The Artist, does more than tell a story set in that time period, it actually adopts the style of the period, being entirely black and white and with musical accompaniment replacing dialogue. More than that, though, the film actually emulates the storytelling form of the period, there is a human-ness in Jean Dujardin's George Valentin that is reminiscent of the kind of character Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton might play, a good-natured fellow buffeted by fate.

The Artist is one of the best films about the Golden Age of film ever produced, and is highly recommended.