The Artist

A fantastically daring silent movie starring Jean DuJardin and Bérénice Bejo, I really enjoyed this over the weekend. Before going to the movie, I thought it was going to be hard work, arty, for the sale of arty but I was quickly swept away by the brilliant acting and excellent score with references to Singing in the Rain and A Star is Born.
Jean DuJardin is famous in France but has never broken into the International scene, mainly because he can't speak English. In fact , he had only two words to say in the film and in my opinion he fluffed them with his heavily accented French 'Wiz Pleasure" grande finalé..
Handsome and hardworking, he came to the French public's attention first with "un gars/une fille" circa 2000, a skit between a young couple and has risen through the french ranks since then with numerous other films and programmes. It is The Artist which has pushed him into the International spot light though and he is a strong favourite for the Oscar this year.
A little spanner in the works however which might thwart his Oscar winning chances , is his starring role in Les Infidèles , a raunchy movie about two lads who like to cheat on their wives regularly. The posters advertising the movie are a little  risqué, to say the least,  and the advertising authorities have ordered that they be taken down ( even though they were splashed all around the cinema in Perpignan this weekend) due to the number of complaints they have received. Bad timing for this French rising star?

What do you think?

I'm going into a meeting