Silent Movie wins at The Oscars

Having discussed The Artist’s Oscar nominations last week, here, Dr Jonathan Ervine at the School of Modern Languages shares his views about Sunday night’s successes.

“The success of The Artist at the Oscars crowns an amazing year for French film which has seen the highest number of people going to cinemas in France for almost half a century. The film’s five Oscars include several of the most significant prizes on offer, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.”

“Jean Dujardin’s Best Actor statuette in Los Angeles saw him win a prize which had escaped him two nights before in Paris at Les Césars, France’s equivalent of The Oscars. Best actor at Les Césars was Omar Sy, for his role in Intouchables (Untouchables), which in 2011 became the second most watched French film of all time after attracting a massive 19 million spectators.”

“Dujardin became the first Frenchman to win Best Actor at the Oscars on the same night as The Artist became the first French film to win Best Picture. The list of winners at Sunday night’s ceremony had a certain symmetry to it. Five awards went to The Artist, a French film set in Los Angeles, and another five went to Hugo, an American film set in Paris.”

“Following its Oscar success, I hope that The Artist will now be given a well-deserved extended run at more British cinemas. Here at Bangor University, we run several popular modules on French and European cinema. This shows that there is considerable interest in such films.”

Publication date: 26 February 2012