One of the movie industry’s biggest surprises of 2011 is the silent film, “The Artist,” winner of a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Comedy, a Best Actor award at Cannes and a likely contender for this year’s Oscars.
In the film, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, silent movie idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) mourns the arrival of talkies. Refusing to adapt to the new genre, Valentin’s career falls apart.
Like Valentin’s career, Jacksonville took off during the heyday of silent films. The site of the country’s first full-length feature film in Technicolor, “The Gulf Between,” Jacksonville almost became Hollywood with more than 30 movie studios operating in the city by 1916, including Metro Pictures which later became known as MGM.
Unfortunately, residents disliked the vulgarity of the films, and local government support for the film industry waned. That in addition to advances in technology, which made indoor filming and studios less dependent on the Florida sunshine prompted the film industry to move to Hollywood.
With its strong connection to our city’s filmic roots, “The Artist” brings back the nostalgia of an era where stars were born on the silver screen and the magic of movies helped people escape their everyday lives.
