Bang!

The Artist (2011)

Absolutely magical. Like last years Hugo in it's affection for early cinema but with a stronger through-line.

A wonderful character piece masterfully using a score and terrific acting to convey emotion and plot perfectly that the few dialogue cards you do get are almost superfluous.

Jean Dujardin manages a simultaneously hammy and yet subtle performance (the multiple takes of him doing a scene with an extra who will soon surpass his fame is simply wonderful). A number of interesting actors pepper the film (always great to see John Goodman) but never upstage the main stars.

Only January and this is the quality for other films to beat for the year.