【電影簡介】

1927年，好萊塢的當紅默片巨星George Valentin，才華洋溢，無人不識，偶然機會下邂逅了小影迷Peppy Miller。Peppy熱愛表演，立志要在演藝圈干一番事業(yè)，可是苦無機會，直到因緣際會下獲得George的提攜，終由寂寂無名的小配角搖身一變成為萬人新偶像。原本越走越近的兩人，卻被命運越拉越遠……

時移世易，隨著有聲電影的崛起，默片逐漸被淘汰、遺忘，George縱然堅守信念，仍不敵無情的時代巨輪和喜歡追求新鮮感的觀眾。后來更適逢經濟大蕭條，George和Peppy的身份地位大逆轉，名望、金錢、自尊頓成他們愛情路上的障礙。飽受挫折的George變得一蹶不振，但Peppy依然不離不棄，希望能助他東山再起。情義交織的一對有情人，終成眷屬。

【音頻文本】

The Academy must have lowered their standards, because this year an experiment with old fashioned cinema took home five awards, including best picture, best actor and best score. Yes, Michel Hazanavicius is doingit again. After his success with the 'OSS 117' films, he is now pushing his record further back in time, to the Hollywood of the late 1920s.

To guarantee that his new spoof 'The Artist' attracted widespread attention, Hazanavicius referenced 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'A Star is Born' in his production of a black-and-white silent melodrama. With the help of French actor Jean Dujardin and composer Ludovic Bource, Michel Hazanavicius had his way again at theHollywood and Highland Center.

Hazanavicius is indebted to Jean Dujardin, whose talking eyebrows and charming smile prevent the audience from dozing off. Ludovic Bource's score works to the same effect, providing constant stimulus to viewers whose brains remain largely unchallenged by a flaccid storyline.

Some might consider 'The Artist' a silent film and a tribute to the good old days (and ways). But I'd rather look at it as a director's experiment with creatively traditional filming methods. Strictly speaking, 'The Artist' is not a silent movie. Although Hazanavicius did try to create an impression of the 1920s silent films, for example he shot the movie at a lower frame rate of 22 fps to mimic the speed, the techniqueshe employed are actually more modern than they are archaic.

More importantly, the characters in the movie are allowed to talk, on two specific occasions: one in the form of a dream, the other at the end of the film. I like the part in the dream when a feather shakes the earth with ear-splitting sound, quite a vivid portrayal of the anxiety of the male lead whose prosperous career as a popular silent movie star is about to be cut short by the advent of talkies.

There are many other smart maneuvers in the film, all testifying to the fact that Hazanavicius boldly experiments with whatever idea and gimmick he can manage, in an effort to make a different film, while remaining unhindered by any need to express anything in particular. The richness of scattered patches of ingenuity, combined with a so-so story and the absence of a main theme, makes the movie seem like a Frankenstein. Well, a Frankenstein with the best engineered arms and legs, but a Frankenstein nonetheless.

'The Artist' is a clever film, but remains one step away from greatness. Perhaps I'll watch it again, to admire the acting and the director's nostalgic originality and, more importantly, to find out what exactly the critics were impressed by.

One a scale from one to ten, I give 'The Artist' a 6.5.

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