Who does this? Who makes a black-and-white movie in the 21st century? Who makes a silent film in the 21st century? The Artist: Not in 3D, not in IMAX, not even in widescreen! It’s impossible to imagine anyone even remotely connected to Hollywood -- or hoping to bust in -- making a movie this audacious. Risky isn’t even the word. Insane might be the word. The Artist could have been all about the gimmick. Marvelously, it isn’t. And yet its marvelousness is wrapped up in the gimmick. This same story would be very different, and have a very different impact, if it weren’t silent. It might still be, far and away, the best film of the year. But it would be so for very different reasons. This craziness fell to French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius and one of France’s most famous comic actors, Jean Dujardin.