Special: The Artist [2011]

So far in writing entries on this blog I have not deviated from my stated film time periods but today I must make an exception with good reason.



Go see The Artist.

No, really.

If you give a care about old movies, and if you are reading this blog in any capacity, I hope you do, this is a film you need to see.

Let me break this down: this is a silent, black and white film about the film industry around 1929, specifically the moment when films switched from silent to talkies. It tells the story of George Valentin, a popular silent film actor whose life is destroyed by the change, and Peppy Miller, an up-and-coming actress who starts her career as an extra during the silent era only to be promoted to leading lady when sound is introduced. Their stories are connected, as Peppy's first step into the film industry is brought about by an encounter with George, and it is crazy to see how their roles reverse.

To avoid spoilers (and also because I need to keep this blog relevant to its topic) I have to point out the way the silent style was used in this film. For one thing, this movie did NOT in any way shy away from silent era conventions. It wasn't just a movie made in 2011 that happened to be silent; it was a silent film. The background music is used almost as a tool to facilitate telling the audience how they should be feeling, combined with the somewhat exaggerated (by today's standards) methods of expressing and emoting. Things that might be deemed as being too "cheesy" by today's screenwriters make their way into the film with ease, such as a scene where George's dog saves his life.

However, the movie is constantly aware of its silence and what this means to the characters of the film. One scene in particular that startled me was when George's wife approaches him one day with the dialogue card of, "Why can't we talk?" Not only is she speaking for all the fired silent film actors who weren't given their chance to speak, she is finally emphasizing the fact that throughout most of the film, George and his wife never talk. Initially I read this as a means to show how their relationship is weak because there are no dialogue cards but it runs deeper than that. No dialogue cards, no flapping lips, and even no expressions showing how they feel towards each other. They aren't talking in every way.

In another scene, one of only two with sound, George puts something down on his vanity and it actually makes a noise. There is no music playing so it is clear to the audience that this strange thing has just occurred and George acts similarly shocked by hearing the sound, preceding then to move around the other objects on the table to hear that they make noise as well. George is living in a silent world even though talkies now exist and he doesn't know how to handle being able to hear things in the same way the audience doesn't know what to make of this sudden shift from silence.

On a final note about the plot (no spoilers), I absolutely love the way the relationship between George and Peppy is portrayed. Although they have romantic chemistry, the film never tries to push towards romance, instead happy to relish in Peppy's sense of devotion to her idol and mentor and their mutual respect for each other. It's a refreshingly realistic element in a film full of seemingly "unrealistic" 20s/30s film conventions.

This movie really could and should have only been made 80 years after the silent film has fallen out of fashion. Aside from the obvious fact that the switch from silent film to talkies really did bring about hardships like the ones endured by George Valentin in this film that would have been rough on such actors too soon after their careers have fallen apart, the film proves to modern audiences that this "archaic" art form is still powerful and can still be employed to great effect. We now live in a world where films are hastily converted into 3D as a marketing ploy, where a "Transformers" movie can be the highest grossing movie of the year with its abysmal acting, sloppy script, and gimmicky special effects up the wazoo, but guess what? Movie magic can still be made without any of those ploys.

Seriously, why are you still reading?

Go see it.

The Last Laugh [1924]

Or in the original German Der Letzte Mann which actually translates to The Last Man.



So it's unlikely that I will be posting with this amount of frequency all the time but currently I am sitting in the library and have been since 11:00PM. Why? It's called an 11-hour overnight shift. I get paid to make sure no one burns down the library and in return I get to screw around on my computer for hours and get paid quite well for it. I've got an Amp in my system and I think the paranoia is starting to kick in but it probably won't affect this entry much.

Well, back to the movie. My mission with the blog has always been A.) to push my love of riffing movies onto other people and more importantly B.) to encourage others to watch old movies. I meet people all the time who say they love movies but they don't like movies that are black & white/silent/foreign. Well, this one is all three so eat it.

This movie is a part of the German expressionism movement that was popular after WWI and in all honesty, I like it but I don't love it. There aren't many people I would truly recommend this film to because if I were to recommend a German expressionist film to anyone I would encourage you to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [1919] or Metropolis [1927] long before this one (and I'll eventually do entries on those two). The reason is simple:

This movie is depressing.

Well, okay, not just that. It's also a fairly straightforward and not particularly exciting plot for an expressionist film so most people who watch it have to be the kind of people who are super into things like camera angles and lighting or you might get bored. It's simplicity is also why this entry will be easy to do. When I first watched it I summed up 5/6 of the movie with a Tweet that said, "Walrus-looking German man with an intense 'stache loses job, mind" and while I stand by that description, I will try to prove that it really isn't as dry as that description.

Other details about the movie: It's directed by F.W. Murnau who also did Sunrise [1927] (which I haven't seen) and Nostferatu [1922] (which I have and might make a part of a monster movie series of posts). The lead role of the nameless hotel porter is played by Emil Jannings who doesn't look nearly as old/fat out of make-up as he does in make-up. Also, aside from being a silent movie, this is also a movie without dialogue. It has one title card that has a message from the writer of the movie but I'll get to that later.

Finally, I must say that although I'm not sure if every version of this movie has the same soundtrack (but it probably does because mine is the DVD version), I have to say that I LOVE the music in this movie. I love it so much that I wish I could turn it into an mp3 and listen to it on my Zune. Seriously. I think I just have a thing for the cello and well, all stringed instruments since I used to play violin.

And I should have said this earlier: SPOILERS!

So here we see our protagonist, the hotel porter. He loves his job.

However, he is getting a little too old for this shit as we see him taking a break after having to carry a heavy trunk in from the rain.

Here we seeing the door of chance that symbolizes the fact that he might be a little screwed.

Evil supervisor has seen him taking a break because apparently no one taught him how to properly cheat the system. If you're going to slack off, do it in the bathroom. Duh.

But hotel porter recovers and makes love to his mustache.

Before being as pimp as possible. To quote Henry Killenger from Venture Bros.: "I LOVE MEIN JOB!"

At the end of the day, porter returns to his shanty apartment.

Where everyone thinks he's totally awesome because he has a much better job than they do. Deep down though, they think he's a pompous turd (I'm guessing).

Here we see his daughter. What is she doing anyway?

Oh! She's . . . making her own wedding cake. That's . . . tragic. It really is. I mean, couldn't she at least have asked a kind relative to make it for her?

For some reason he pets her veil while shaking his head at her. That's the most kind and subtle disapproval of a marriage I've ever seen.

Porter is made more sympathetic to the audience with a scene of him cheering up a sad child on the way to work. Oh, isn't he such a lovable walrus of an Everyman?

*insert comical bouncing noise of revelation here*
He's wearing the same outfit as me!
Oh, and
Some other porter has taken my place!

I can actually relate to this. I got kicked out of my restaurant at Six Flags once by this annoying guy who would only work three hours at a time while I was forced into the fried dough stand alone for eight hours. It was the busiest damn stand in the water park! But I digress . . .

Porter is sent to the boss' office which either means trouble or an award.

In this case it's the former.

He becomes so overwhelmed with the grief of losing his respectable position (well, respectable for his class) that they literally have to call someone in to strip him of his uniform.

His daughter is waiting for him to come home. So why is he late?

He went back to steal his uniform. Desperate? Oh yeah. He loves those gaudy, shiny buttons all right.

I remember one of my English professors (well, it was technically on English class but it was mostly a film class) explained that uniforms are really important to Germans. Do you think of the same horrible thing that I do when reflecting on that phrase?

So he goes home and pretends everything is totally cool.

But gets totally wasted anyway.

While drunk, he dreams of a superimposition of the revolving door of the hotel taking over his face.

And that he's Superman. Well, who hasn't had that dream?
"Able to lift large trunks with a single hand! Look on in awe!"

The next morning he continues the charade that he still has his sweet job and puts on his uniform. I think that woman is his wife.

So what's the job he has been demoted to anyway? The movie forgot to tell us.

Bathroom attendant. Oh yeah. Bottom of the barrel.

I'm totally serious. Have you ever seen a happy bathroom attendant? Hell no. They have to listen to people pee all day and pretend that you can't grab towels on your own. Plus, all your tips are pity tips.

Corner of sadness.

So, sadness continues for a while and then a new development occurs.

Bitchy neighbor (or is that the wife-figure? Not important) sees that he's been demoted when she goes to bring him some lunch. Daughter is appalled.

More agony and despair as he gives back the stolen uniform.

The use of lighting is just really sweet here.

At this point the audience is thoroughly worn. You're thinking, "Hot damn. This is a downer. Is he gonna die now too? Or is his daughter gonna get hit by a truck driven by her new husband or what? What could you possibly do in the last 15 minutes of this movie to make us feel more horrible?"

Huh?

Wait. What?

Amused rich hotel patrons?

No fucking way.

Was this millionaire high when he wrote his will?

And by the way, these rich people have an odd sense of humor to find this funny.

But you already know who the lucky bathroom attendant was anyway.

So once the employee, he now chills there with his own extravagant wealth.

And to prove that money hasn't changed him (yet), he goes into the bathroom and tips the attendant (who looks like he could be Sigmund Freud's older brother) like crazy.

And gives him a cigar. Have some cancer on me!

And now he actually HAS a pimp coat with which to ride off into the sunset in.

So as I said before, I like this movie. I think the directing is fantastic and the music is great and I like the decision to have no dialogue. I even like the unrealistic happy ending because although the movie does not shy away from the truth, it doesn't want to kill the audience's mood anymore than it already has.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some old, eccentric millionaires with poorly written wills to find.