Silence of the Past

Why The Artist Told My Story

The Artist, a movie about a silent-film star facing the advent of the talkies, won Best Picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards and has captured the hearts of moviegoers with its black-and-white glamor, infectious dance steps, and silent-movie simplicity.

But the movie also tells a rougher, contemporary story. The debonair lead character does not see silent movies as charming or retro. Silent movies were his medium, his profession, even his life. So he suffers a reversal of fortune, losing his mansion and all that went with it.

In the film, the actor’s colleagues …