Oscars for French heartthrob, clever Jack Russell

If so, you may feel sympathy for the plight of silent movie star, George Valentin, played by Jean Dujardin, in the Oscar-winning film The Artist, recently screened at the Alliance Francaise’s Cine Club.
Heartthrob Valentin, who lives in a Hollywood mansion with his beautiful yet cold wife, has his world turned upside down when the fickle public tires of silent movies and ‘talkies’ become all the rage. Jean Dujardin, a 40-year-old French actor who won an Oscar for his performance as Valentin, never set out to conquer Hollywood, claiming his preference is to spend time with his family in the south of France, playing petanque for relaxation.
Although a surprise winner and the first French recipient of the Best Oscar Actor, Dujardin’s winning smile in his silent role epitomises his charm and success as an actor. In a medium without dialogue or sound (apart from background music) the audience depends upon facial expression and body language to follow the plot. Special effects and clever scripts were still in the future, and actors relied heavily upon their looks and ability to mime.
Valentin refuses to take on talking roles in spite of the advice of studio executives, and is eventually forced to sell his belongings, as his fortunes go from bad to worse. Were it not for the solicitude of Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), a dancer and devoted fan who becomes a star of talking movies, he might have disappeared into oblivion.
Valentin’s constant companions are Clifton, his beloved chauffeur, played by James Cromwell of LA Confidential, and Uggy, an exceptionally clever and loyal Jack Russell terrier. Clifton and the devoted Uggy contribute to the feel good factor of this romantic comedy, which has won fame for its French-born director Michel Hazanavicius.
The Cine Club at the Alliance Francaise promises to be popular with lovers of the cinema. Director Charles Houdart intends to show some of the best and most recent French films in Harare, giving audiences opportunities to appreciate France’s strong tradition and skill in the genre of film. From time to time, the best of Italian and Korean films will also be screened. About to be refurbished with state-of-the-art equipment, the theatre will reopen in September.
The Artist won five Oscar awards in total: if this film hasn’t been screened at your local cinema, take time off blogging and tweaking your website, buy the DVD, and own what has been called ‘the best movie of the year’.