Melissa Fairbanks

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An Open Letter to Jean Dujardin

Posted: 02/21/2012 7:33 pm

Dear Mr. Dujardin,

I just wish to send you a very short note to say, thank you, for the magnificent film -- The Artist. Not only because it is brilliant on a global scale, but also because for me personally, it was as if there were moments when I thought I saw my grandfather, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in front of my very own eyes!

An extraordinary experience, and at times -- completely surreal! I don't know how much of an influence he was for your interpretation of the part -- but it seems to me that you have really embodied his dynamic spirit, his joie de vivre and an aspect of his that I often feel on watching his films where I find myself between tears and laughter.

He understood how to really touch profound feelings and you do the same thing. Unfortunately, he died seven years before I was born, but I always felt an especially deep connection with him -- even more than I felt with my own father.

Now I am quite an old lady, but I sent my children and grandchildren to see your film. They loved it as well, recognizing also a kind of Ogenetic resonance! So, in closing, a big thank you for having touched our hearts in such an important manner. I wish you all the best for your future and thank you for having brought magic -- a magic apparent to all the world -- but for me, something personal and a profoundly touching experience.

Melissa Fairbanks
London, England

 
Dear Mr. Dujardin, I just wish to send you a very short note to say, thank you, for the magnificent film -- The Artist. Not only because it is brilliant on a global scale, but also because for me per...
Dear Mr. Dujardin, I just wish to send you a very short note to say, thank you, for the magnificent film -- The Artist. Not only because it is brilliant on a global scale, but also because for me per...
 
 
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12:21 PM on 02/27/2012
Melissa, I met your father about 20 years ago when he introduced a group of your grandfather's comedies at Film Forum in New York; he was wonderfully engaging (as was your grandfather on screen). I too was delighted with "The Artist," its heart and charm and clever references to classic Hollywood. A nice performance from Dujardin, as he and everyone associated with that film seemed to "get it" where film history is concerned.

I cordially invite you to visit my site (which will celebrate its fifth anniversary in June) dedicated to Golden Age Hollywood, focusing on someone your father knew (though he never worked with her on-screen), Carole Lombard: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com.