Director Michel Hazanavicius is well known in France for his James Bond spoof series OSS 117.When his latest effort, a filmabout the silent era called The Artist, was announced for the Cannes line-up, everyone was intrigued. No one, though, was anticipating the passion with which audiences would embrace the film. The Artist isn’t simply a homage to the silent era of filmmaking; it actually is a silent film. Shot in glorious black and white, the story is told through intertitles and amusical score without any spoken dialogue, but never once does it feel old-fashioned or quaint.

Hollywood, 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a successful and much-loved silent movie star. Fame and fortune are part of his everyday life and he calls the shots on set.When his path crosses with Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), a sassy young nobody, George doesn’t hesitate to get her a break in the film business. But change is in the air, and with the coming of sound her career starts to take off just as his begins to falter. Out with the old, in with the new becomes the order of the day and George falls into a spiral of failure and depression. Will Peppy be able to save him before it’s too late?

While the filmis loaded with clever cinema references, what will draw you in is quite simply the great storytelling. From start to finish, The Artist is funny, entertaining and poignant, with terrific performances from the entire cast. Dujardin (Little White Lies) is an extraordinarily gifted physical actor who was born to play the part of George; John Goodman is unrecognisably skinny as the tough-as-nails producer; Bejo exudes the perfect girl-next-door quality; and you’ll love Uggy, the most charismatic dog seen on screen in recent memory.