We Rate	7.75/10
Director	Martin Scorsese
Producer	Infinitum Nihil, GK Films,
Cast	Asa Butterfield, Sasha Baron Cohen, Jude Law
Story	Brian Selznic, John Logan
Genre	Adventure/ Family
Runtime	127 Min
Rating	PG
Release	November 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hugo was one of the best films of 2011. In the movie world, where 3D slowly made it’s way into evry form and sort of films, whether we want it or not, Hugo is a gem, a very rare gem. And to put it simply, Hugo is a good movie for anyone looking for a good movie to watch. Martin Scorsese is not known to make family movie, involving imaginative kids and magic keys, but there you go, now we have Hugo, adapted from the very popular book by Brian Selznic The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This movie is magic and in a very basic way, good cinema.

After Midnight in Paris, this is another film about Paris in 1930s, about love of cinema consisting of homages and references to the iconic men of cinema history. And Hugo has shown the 1930s world so beautifully with views of Paris that makes the city look like a dream. It is movie about a child and that childlike imagination and simplicity is there everywhere in the film. This is one of the best of Scorsese and he contains some extremely good performances, especially by Asa Butterfield.

Situated mostly in a railway station, Hugo has an unmistakeable extravagance; it is grand, beautiful, flamboyant and charming to the core. Before we discuss the story one must look at the beauty of it’s representation. Martin Scorsese shows how to make a 3D cinema. It is his vision along with Selznic’s that makes us wonder at the huge, bronze-golden machinery that keeps the station clocks ticking and makes Hugo who now works at the station, remember his father. Then there are the huge steam engines, throwing is gusts of smoke at the screen; the large clock gears, that somehow look a little Tim Burton-ish, the intricate details of the machines… the list goes on. We definitely need to mention the beautiful cinematography by Robert Richardson, who was also responsible for Kill Bill Vol 1 &2, Shutter Island and many others.

This story is not merely 3D. It is 3D in the very core. Scorsese weaves a spell of history, where he recreates Paris detailed and defined where Melies´was putting together the very first movie studio to make the iconic Trip to the Moon. From the story of a child running from the  station inspector, to meeting a friend to share secrets with, to discovering his father’s invention the whole movie is a topsy-turvy  roller-coaster 3D journey to the birth of cinema and  re-visiting the wonder that it was and the dreams that cinema brought.

This is enough to enthrall anyone with a squat of love for cinema. What falls short is well, Sascha Baron Cohen, who supposedly Hugo is frightened of. Maybe his background of comedy is not going to leave him so easily. He ends up looking comic, at times even silly. It can be understood that a child’s fear is never very rational, however Baron Cohen’s character looked comical even from a child’s perspective. What is also missed  is a good child actor. Asa Butterfield is great, however I guess it is not difficult to remember Haley Joel Osment, the kid from A.I Artficial Intelligence and The Sixth Sense, and many others. An actor like that would have seriously heightened the film.

Hugo is a must watch.

For dates check out Movies in November part 2