Hugo is set in the 1930’s and tells the story of a resourceful boy who lives in a train station and teams up with a spirited young girl to solve a mystery. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, and the reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.
There’s many words I can use to describe the film HUGO but as far as Martin Scorseses rather impressive resume that has always shown a complete brilliance but this is the first time Scorsese has gone down the path of the ‘fad’ that is 3D and proves that films can still be made that utilize this technology in such a way that is just sheer genius the opening shot of Paris with the snow falling had me in awe.
The trailer show’s us a very small part of this movie there is just so much more it’s not just an adventure film about two young children it’s also Scorsese’s love letter to cinema. It’s widely known to film buffs that Scorsese is a film historian and has quite the collection of old films and for this film lover there is a rather beautiful extension to the story which does at times pull the old heart strings.
The film is based off the historical-fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick titled ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’. The book’s inspiration is of the true story of French filmmaker Georges Méliès who was born in 1861 who basically pioneered the world of film. Even though it only goes for 8minutes one of his most acclaimed works ‘Le Voyage dans la lune’ translated in English to ‘A Trip to the Moon’ is featured greatly in the film.
HUGO brings quite the eclectic cast, the young boy Hugo Cabret played by Asa Butterfield who you may have seen in such movies as ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ or ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ brings such emotion to the title role he is absolutely brilliant. Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle, Hugo’s partner in this epic adventure is just so far from her previous roles in ‘Kick Ass’ and ‘Let Me In’ she also plays a british girl accent and all and I don’t know what it is about this girl everything she’s in she is always close to stealing the show. Ben Kingsley(House of Sand and Fog, Sexy Beast) who is actually one of my favorite actors of all time brings us Papa Georges he runs the little toy shop at the train station and Isabelle is his god daughter. Kingsley’s performance in this film is what shines for me, his on screen presence is just amazing and I do expect some nominations in the upcoming awards season. Sacha Baron Cohen(Bruno and the upcoming film The Dictator) as the loveable but clumsy Inspector Gustav suit’s the role immensely, his screen charisma just oozes every time he delivers his dialog.
HUGO is a heartwarming tale of adventure and a truly inspirational story the whole family will fall in love with. I give this film 5 out of 5.
HUGO hits Australian Cinemas on the 12th January.
(If you want to see the movie ‘A Trip to the Moon’ by Georges Méliès you can check it out on youtube here but you can also check out some hand coloured clips of the film here.)