366 Notes to 2013: 21st January 2012

i was planning to go out, was planning to read, was planning to watch television, but i decided not to. what i did was play computer games in the afternoon. then, at night, i downloaded and watched The Artist (2011), starring Jean Dujardin. i L-O-V-E it. it's perfect in every way. Dujardin deserved his Cannes, Golden Globes Best Actor awards, and others. it would be a treat to see him win the Academy Award and BAFTA acting awards as well. special mention and recognition to the clever dog, Uggie.\

Jean Dujardin and Uggie

The Artist is a melodrama about the decline of a silent film actor, George Valentin, on the latter part of the 1920s, the growth of talkies, and the rise of an actress, Peppy Miller.

Dujardin as George Valentin and Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller

watching The Artist is genuinely like watching a silent film in the golden age of silent films. i get excited and thrilled with the signature silent film screen ratio and long shots and medium shots and the occasional close-ups, with the 1930s setting, with the hair and dress styles (you would think the actors belonged to the silent era), the 'mugging' of the actors on screen, the lively and tender musical score, and especially the intertitles. they made me smile. the touches of pathos made me teary eyed as well. the film made clever use of technology in those days. truly, a tribute to the silent era.

i can't wait to see it again.