The Director of 'The Artist' on How to Make a Modern Silent Film

The idea of silence in a movie theatre is virtually unrealistic. Many people can attest to the fact that often when enjoying a film at the movies today, you can hear another action or adventure flick playing in the theatre next to yours-- and, you can hear the cacophony of crashes and explosions that are common in just about every movie these days. But for Michel Hazanavicius, this idea isn't so much a pipe dream, as he's made it a reality.

Save for the responses and reaction of laughter and the like from audiences, Hazanavicius's The Artist is a contemporary black and white film. It tells the story of a director who blossoms the career of an actress in silent films, and when sound comes into the picture, she advances in her fame and popularity-- all while the director is stuck in the past, unable to forget the ways of soundless cinema. The actress, however, still knows she owes her career to the director for giving her her big break. Oh, and the entire film in silent.

You've probably heard of it, or maybe not. Depending on how often you watch the news, you may or may not have seen a report on it. I know I have, as that's why this article appealed to me. I'm personally interested in directing, because although I wish to be a writer, I often envision what a film version of my stories would look like so I can accurately describe everything essential to a scene, without going overboard and overloading my readers.

Most of the article comprises of an interview with Hazanavicius, who admits to author Robert Levine that a foreign director making a foreign movie could never dream of being a buzz for a foreign awards show. But still, The Artist is an American movie, having its premier in both New York and Los Angeles theaters. And it's true-- the modern day silent film has been granted quite the deal of Oscar buzz for its unique characteristics, compared to the newest addition to the family of never-ending movies made from toys and games *coughcoughTransformersandBattleshipcoughcough* Sorry, frog in my throat...

But what do movies have anything to do with the study of rhetoric and language for an AP English course? In my opinion, any media of storytelling relates to English. This particular piece is void of language, whether it would have been english, french, italian, or otherwise-- making the work have a seamless transition between cultures and audiences across the globe. While I've yet to be able to see the film myself, I look forward to when I can. The silent film, in my opinion, is much like the opposite of a book. In a book, we are given the words, but not the pictures or sounds to go with it. In the silent film, the audiences has the picture-- but no color or sounds or words. If you actively watch a movie such as this, your creativity comes alive. Only you can decide how their voice is, if they say a certain word funny, what word the character is saying. It's an idea I find highly attractive; if only more directors saw the world of cinema through at least the glasses Hazanavicius wears.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/the-director-of-the-artist-on-how-to-make-a-modern-silent-film/248878/

Published 22 Nov. 2011.


Term Two, Week Two. (Nov. 20-26, 2011) Post One.