The Artist; dir. Michel Hazanavicius

A film that charts a changing world in much the same way as Under The Greenwood Tree and Cider with Rosie did, this time about the coming of the talkies to replace silent movies rather than the replacement of people by machines or the coming of the motor car. It has had great reviews by the critics but as a silent film I was interested to see whether it could hold the ordinary punter's attention for an hour and a half. After all we're not used to sitting through silent films these days and at the end of the day they're not made anymore because, in a Darwinian sense they were out-competed by something better suited to survive. I was also interested to decide if it is an enjoyable rather than a 'great piece of art' beloved of the critics. It did not disappoint on either count, a thoroughly enjoyable film about Hollywood at the end of the 1920's at the end of the silent era.