Rarely does a commercial film live up to the hype. The Artist deserves the awards it got on many levels. Besides being engagingly inventive and entertaining, it was a film about film. A film where the process of fim making was the sub text. It celebrated and slyly paid homage to the great film makers of the past. In a world of ever more complex special effects and budgets, the special effects in The Artist were sheer simplicity, style and acting! Great cast and the best film doggie I've seen in years. 
Maybe the world will finally forgive Dujardin for Brice de Nice!