Hugo (2011)

Martin Scorsese is a director who usually wanders through mean streets, but with his latest "Hugo" he has fashioned one of the sweetest films in recent memory. While the story is aimed primarily at a young audience this time it is also Scorsese's first exploration of 3D. I've seen it in 2D though and I can tell that it was absolutely gorgeous to look at. It's not only a prime example of state-of-the-art filmmaking by one of the greatest directors of our time but also a dedication to cinema itself and a brief but inspiring lesson in film history.

The film begins with a tracking shot over the beautifully designed cityscape of Paris and into a busy train station all the way to a close up of the young protagonist's eyes hiding behind the station's huge clock. It is Hugo and this is where he lives, in the catacombs of the large building complex. Hugo is an orphan. Since his father's death he was raised by his uncle who was drunk most of the time. Now he is all alone maintaining all the clocks in the station and repairing other things. He says that the whole world works like a machine - which is also evident in the first shot of the movie, when Paris appears like a blueprint of a complex clockwork - and he is taking care of the small things that need repair and help to keep the whole running. But what he can't repair is his own situation and his family life. He survives mostly by stealing things from the stores around while he is trying to get an old manlike machine-doll to work that could help him further.
One day he is caught by an old shop owner played by Ben Kingsley. Through the conflict with the enigmatic and strangely embittered man Hugo gets to in contact with the man's daughter Isabelle who is in the same age. She certainly is the love interest but their romance doesn't take centerstage which I think was a very good way to go. Eventually she is the key to unlock the mystery.

I was very compelled even though the climax is not that dramatic and the arc pretty obvious. What I liked about the story was that Hugo's personal quest and the mystery of the old man's identity are closely related and eventually fall into one place. Would one have only been another subplot it would not have quite worked so well but the old man is equally important to the story as is Hugo himself. There is a subplot in the film though that involves a weird, fussy guard who is ambitionsly but clumsily observing the station and fighting for order. That includes tracking down parentless children and sending them to orphanage. He is always in company of his dog and of course they both stand in as the comic relief and provide some of the faster sequences in the film. It is a very simple but fitting side story and it works also because of the performance by Sascha Baron Cohen who is really funny in the role of the inspector. But while delivering some exciting chases and slapstick scenes even his character gets some lighter moments.

Standing out for me though is Asa Butterfield as the cute boy Hugo. I was absolutely impressed by his appearance that was really mesmerizing. He is a real natural talent with wonderful charisma. In comparison I thought his counterpart Chloë Grace Moretz, who plays Isabelle, came across almost a little stiff and was not quite in the same league even though physically the two fit together nicely. The sweet couple will certainly engage kids in the audience to identify with them and join in and participate at their search.

But while there is all the humor and emotion properly delivered there is something more to find for everybody that eventually made Hugo not only into a good but a great film. We follow the movie back in time. It was in 1895 when cinema was invented. One of the first and most famous movies shown for an audience was "The Arrival of a Train at la Ciotat" by the brothers Lumière in Paris. So what better setting could "Hugo" have than a train station in Paris - even though the film is playing around the 1930s.

It's Hugo who is passionate about the movies. He naturally shares his love with his new girlfriend and with the audience. The film takes not only a brief look but shows entire scenes of classic movies from that early period. Filmmaking itself becomes a major theme. Especially for kids it is such a wonderful way to integrate a little lesson in movie history into this affecting story. It is an important lesson and it not only contains countless references and tells us about movies by Lumière, Meliès, Porter and many more, but it also illustrates how these movies were produced and that they were in color, for instance. Many people may not know that, but films have indeed been colorized by hand in the first ten or 15 years of cinema and were not just black and white. It is a rewarding experience for kids - and uninformed adults, too - who will be able to learn something along the way and it will certainly arouse nostalgia in every movie geek.

Speaking of movie geeks it must have been the biggest joy for Scorsese himself to deal with this material as he is certainly one of the biggest film buffs on the planet. Sometimes it seems as if the film was taken directly from Scorsese's childhood memories and his dreams. Often times you read that this may be Scorsese's most personal film. Like Hugo he grew up with films and was fascinated by them from the very beginning. Due to his asthma he could not go out very often and spent lots of time watching movies. If everyone has his place in the machine - as Hugo suggest in one scene - it was destiny for Scorsese to become the great director he is. With Hugo he fashioned a wonderful gem that expresses his passion and awe for cinema.

We now live in the digital age. Scorsese makes a point that you can create something truly sublime with all the new technology we have. But at the same time he reminds us of the pioneers of the craft. It's up to todays directors to restore and expand the legacy that began to fascinate people all around the world back in 1895. Hugo depicts a modern master paying tribute to one of the first icons in the history of the medium and celebrating the silent era of movies that lasted from around 1895 until 1927. It's a spellbinding journey into the past when filmmaking was considered to be magic. And you know what? It still is.

TRAILER:
Watch the Trailer for 'Hugo' on Youtube