CANNES, France: A French director's clever silent movie about a fallen Hollywood silent-movie star came out of nowhere on Sunday to become a strong contender for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. “The Artist” by Michel Hazanavicius won strong applause – and more than a few laughs – from festival goers who'd been wondering if Cannes this year was ever going to be about more than dysfunctional families. Shot in Hollywood in black and white, it stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a vain silent-movie hero in 1927 who becomes a zero two years later with the advent of the talkies. Berenice Bejo is Peppy Miller, a talking-picture siren who fondly remembers how Valentin gave her a leg up in show biz. Veteran funnyman John Goodman rounds out the cast as studio boss Al Zimmer. Hollywood's heavy-hitting Weinstein brothers, riding high on the success of “The King's Speech,” are planning to release “The Artist” later this year. Winning top honors at Cannes would give the film a huge publicity boost. But for now, Hazanavicius – best known for the “OSS” spy-movie parodies – is more than happy with his adventure in a form of cinema that was long thought extinct. “It's purely visual. It's pure cinema. I didn't know if I'd be able to do it,” said the 44-year-old film-maker, who called in composer and longtime collaborator Ludovic Bource to score the rich orchestral soundtrack. – Agence France
