Movies: ‘The Artist’ Turns Ten

Oscar’s powerful Best Picture winner for 2012 still charms

Ten years ago today, a silent movie debuted in theaters. It’s a small film titled The Artist — it won Oscar’s Best Picture award — and it moved me.

This isn’t a review. However, the movie’s anniversary calls for recognition. Amid early 21st century cultural rot, writer and director Michel Hazanavicius, who also won an Academy Award, observed in his acceptance speech that “life is wonderful.” I recall his motion picture as wonderful, too.

I wrote at the time that The Artist, which derives from the original (and best) 1937 version of A Star is Born, is intimate, contrived and abstract. The story begins in 1927, when a silent film star (Jean Dujardin) discovers a hero-worshipping dancer and actress (Berenice Bejo). The married star’s life is a mess; his career is in descent. His marriage is bankrupt. As he helps the starlet create a career, of course, he entertains and attracts her, dancing, mocking Soviet Russia and showcasing his sense of life. With an unforgettable dog, a grease pencil …