Not suitable under 10, not recommended under 13; parental guidance recommended 13-14 (Disturbing scenes and themes, Substance abuse, Silent format difficult for young children to follow)
This topic contains:
Children under 10 | Not suitable due to disturbing scenes and themes, and substance abuse. The silent film format could also make the film difficult for this age group to follow. |
Children 10-13 | Not recommended due to disturbing scenes and themes and substance abuse. |
Children 14-15 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes |
Children 15 and over | OK for this age group |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Artist, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes |
Length: | 100 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
It’s 1927 and silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is at the top of his career when he is photographed a young woman, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) who subsequently gets a part as an extra in his next film. The pair find themselves immediately attracted to each other but George is married and the romance stays as wishful thinking.
Peppy gains more and more film roles with her name slowly rising up the credits list until she becomes a star in her own right. Then in 1929, studio owner and film producer Al Zimmer (John Goodman) invites George to view a technological breakthrough in films, the “talkies”, which introduces a new era in film making. Unfortunately for George, the talkies end his career when he is fired by Al. “The public wants fresh meat” George is told, while at the same time the talkies raise Peppy’s career to new heights.
Dejected by the loss of his film career, George sinks into depression and destitution and by 1932 he hits rock bottom. He almost kills himself when he sets fire to his home while in a state of drunken depression and then later attempts suicide. Luckily for George, however, he has a guardian angel in the form of Peppy, who has been keeping an eye on him during his downward spiral.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Celebrity; depression; alcoholism
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
The Artist contains occasional non-realistic action violence and accidental harm from the silent film era and scenes of more realist self-harm (no blood and gore is depicted). Examples include:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above mentioned scenes
None of concern
The film contains one covert sexual reference.
The Artist contains occasional low-level sexual activity and mild sensuality. Examples include:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
Infrequent low-level coarse language and name calling including:
The Artist rated (PG), a black and white silent film, is an inspiring story of fame, fortune, friendship and loyalty. The film is targeted at older adolescents and adults, particularly those who have a passion for movies, film making and silent films. The film requires the viewer’s full attention as it relies on facial gestures and body language to tell the story. Younger adolescents and children may find the degree of attention required for this film demanding, and it does contain some dark themes and a couple of tense and disturbing scenes.
The main messages from this movie are:
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Parents may also wish to discuss how pride was George’s greatest enemy nearly resulting in his ruin.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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