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MovieMail's Review
Sergei Eisenstein once said, 'to doubt that stereoscopic cinema has its tomorrows, is as naïve as doubting whether there will be tomorrows at all.'
Martin Scorsese's wise, wonderful children's film employs the very the latest 3D technology and special effects, and though they may well represent cinema's future, they are used to evoke the magic of its yesterdays. Based on Brian Selznick's 2007 novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this is a charming adventure and an intricate mystery, but also a heartfelt love letter to the early days of cinema which reflects Scorsese's passion for preserving and popularising the work of forgotten filmmakers.
Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan. His father (Jude Law), a watchmaker, perished in a museum fire, leaving behind only the charred automaton he was restoring. Abandoned by his alcoholic uncle (Ray Winstone), Hugo makes his home behind the ornate walls of Paris's Gare Montparnasse train station, trying to ensure the station clock runs on time while staying one step ahead of the dogged station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). Convinced the automaton contains a message from his father, Hugo steals parts from a toy stall run by a mysterious old gentleman (Ben Kingsley). When he's finally captured, Hugo is given a chance to solve the puzzle, aided by the gentleman's goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz).
The film is almost entirely set within the confines of the train station, and Scorsese lets his camera explore the daily routines of its regular inhabitants. He also uses the station as an opportunity to explore the 3D medium, and for those blessed with a capable TV set and Blu-ray player, Hugo is a magical, immersive experience, as Scorsese's camera follows Hugo through the steam-filled labyrinth of gears and leavers that drive the station clock.
To the 3D naysayers, Scorsese asks the rhetorical question: would the Lumière brothers' 1895 film L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat have had an even greater impact in 3D? (the Lumières certainly thought so, and reshot the sequence stereoscopically in 1935). In Hugo, Scorsese stages his own spectacular re-enactment which segues into the 1895 derailment of the Granville–Paris Express.
This scene is just one example of the way Scorsese turns cinematic literacy into entertainment. In many ways, Hugo is a companion piece to The Artist; it'll make you fall in love with film all over again.
An extravagant, elegant fantasy that draws inspiration from an unabashed love for the magic of cinema, Martin Scorsese's Hugo is based on the illustrated historical fiction by Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, an orphan who lives in the hidden nooks of a train station in 1920s Paris. With the help of his friend, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz), he sets out to solve a mystery left behind by his late father (Jude Law): a curious puzzle involving a heart-shaped key, a cranky toy shop owner (Ben Kingsley) and a broken automaton, while constantly having to hide from the threat of being sent to the orphanage by the unrelenting Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). Along the way, the tangled lives of the staff and passengers at the station provide numerous colourful detours, and Scorsese pays homage to early pioneers of cinema including the Lumiere brothers and Georges Melies.
The cast also features Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone and Emily Mortimer.
