TIFF Report: “The Artist”

Back in May, I posted this about a unique movie that had premiered at the Cannes Film Festival: The Artist. Why unique? It’s a silent film. Here is the trailer:

Thanks to GITS reader Lise for providing this report from the Toronto International Film Festival which is taking place this week after she screened The Artist:

Last night my husband and I saw The Artist and my reaction to it was completely novel: I burst into (happy) tears when it was over. I had been on edge at the beginning of the film, hoping against all odds that this writer/director (Michel Hazanavicius), who had the gumption to make a silent picture in this day and age, would pull it off. Boy, did he ever.

What a screenplay! He said he wrote it in four months, and maybe he did, but not without thinking it through for years, I’m sure. I couldn’t help thinking that all screenwriters ought to begin with a silent picture in order to fully comprehend the importance of showing rather than saying. My guess is that Hazanavicius wrote the entire screenplay without a single title card and when he was done included them in the film only when they were absolutely required, which was not that often.

His comedic timing is absolute perfection. He created the best transition I’ve ever seen in any film: he uses a one word title card to take us from the most dramatic scene in the film to a light comedic scene. One word. From pure drama to comedy in less than 1 second. Amazing.

When Hazanavicius was introducing the film, he mentioned how he couldn’t believe he got financing for it, joking that the producer (who was on stage with him) had to have been “stupid” (I’m sure he mistranslated ‘fou’ as stupid rather than ‘crazy’). The producer agreed with him. The film was shot in 30 days.

The crowd responded very well to the film, laughing out loud on a number of occasions, and when it was over, there was clapping the likes of which I haven’t heard too often at TIFF. When the crew came back on the stage the crowd gave them a standing ovation and in a cute moment, the producer took the microphone and said “I guess I’m not that stupid”.

For more here’s an article in the WSJ.

THR review here.

Thanks, Lise, for that report!

Here are six clips from the movie: