“If you want to be an actress, you need to have something different…”

There is no point telling you how great this film is. It won the Oscar for god sake! The Artist is the most uniquely wonderful cinematic experience of the year. Perhaps the key underlying reason why this film is so successful lies in the notion of timing. Imagine if The Artist was released in the midst of the silent era of the 1930s. Such a film would be easily forgettable and lost amount the crowd. However, its existence being in the torrent age of 2012, it provides us with a perfect silence and beautiful juxtapositions to most films nowadays. Thus, it won the Oscar.

Jean Dujardin is a classic actor lost within the modern age. In fact he is wasted in films where he is unable to make use of his hugely expressive face. Like life, Jean Dujardin is able to portray the bottom barrel situation and his silent chemistry with fellow French actress Bérénice Bejo is undeniably amazing to endure. Bérénice Bejo possesses the rare 1930s feminine nature of a real lady. It is a natural quality that is difficult to replica. There is a moment in the film, when Jean Dujardin told Bérénice Bejo about the wise old Hollywood: “if you want to be an actress, you need to have something different.”

All in all, The Artist is this year’s masterpiece. Forget the 1930s; forget the silent era of Chaplin’s, this is the 2012. I always thought the films require words to touch and connect with the audience. However, this film proved me wrong and while it may well not inspire the modern to climb back into appreciating movies without the aid of a download button. The Artist is so silent that it is wonderful and yet it is the silence that makes the film something to cheer about after the credits depart us…

Neo rates it 10/10.