usg film.review

8/2/2019 USG Film.review

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Lisa Sanders| 2/9/2012 1

Hugo, the full-length feature film directed by Martin Scorsese and released in November 2011,

is an excellent portrayal of the reality of the human condition, though packaged within the

wrappings of science-fiction and fantasy. This family film will enchant an audience of age

thirteen all the way to seventy.

The film is about an orphaned twelve year old boy, Hugo Cabret, who tragically loses his father

in a fire. He is sent to live with his drunken uncle who lives at the Gare Montparnasse railway

station in Paris 1931. He then trains Hugo on the rigors of maintaining the stations network of

clocks. The story begins soon after Hugos uncle leaves the clock tower in Hugos extremely

capable hands.

Just like clockwork, the opening scene portrays Hugo observing the various daily events

unfolding at the station, peering from above the many peepholes within the clocks he maintains.

This sets up the whos who andwhats whatat the station, defining the world he lives in. Each

time Hugo descends from the mechanical world of clocks to the ground levels of trains and

people in transit, he interacts quietly with its inhabitants and steals food and other basic

necessities to survive his life alone. He does so very carefully staying out of the clutches of the

overzealous station inspector, whose hobby seems to be the incarceration and sendoff of stray

children to orphanages.

Hugo searches for closure by fixing his fathers unfinished project, an old automaton with

missing parts acquired from a museum before his death. He believes that there will be a

message given to him through the automaton, if he gets to fix the broken machine. In

scavenging for missing parts, he enters into the secret world of a toymaker, Georges Mlis,

and his goddaughter Isabelle. Between Georges parts and a mysterious heart-shaped key that

Isabelle possessesthe key to bringing the automaton to life - Hugo slowly realizes that there


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is a deeper mystery unfolding before his eyes that connects Georges, Isabelle, himself, and the

automaton together.

Hugo is a film that appeals to the base human emotions: the need for appreciation,

belongingness, and a higher purpose or calling. In various scenes of the film, the characters all

seek that connection with others, both through love or friendship. In one of the most important

scenes, Hugo and Isabelle talk about how if the world were one giant machine, then they would

be individual cogs in that machine, serving a purpose, though currently unknown to them.

Furthermore, the film emphasizes the importance of family and friendships, and the value of

persistence and hard work. Hugos relationship with Georges and his wife Jeanne, and his

friend Isabelle, though at first rocky, shows how even strangers can form tight bonds of

friendship, and how even strangers and outcasts can one day become like family.

In yet another pivotal scene, Hugo recalls his father telling him that watching a movie is like

seeing your dreams in the daytime.This fascination with film and modern magic personified inhis lifeless automaton fuels Hugos search for answers and his rightful place beyond the clock

tower. His World is a machine rhetoric, followed by We are cogs in that machine is one that

is easily identifiable to any audience regardless of age or movie preference. The idea that we as

human beings must have a purpose greater than our current state binds us to a very powerful

theme that echoes throughout the film. At the end of the movie, all the characters found their

rightful purpose, and though Hugo started his journey looking for a message from his father, he

ended up completing quite a different journey one that took him "home.

If the magic of storytelling alone does not make this movie a must-see for anyone who loves

cinema and science fiction, then perhaps there is value in the history behind it. The film is based

on a novel inspired by the life of Georges Mlis, who could very well be the grandfather of

Science Fiction Film. The movie pays homage to the history of science fiction in film, hailing


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from stage magic to basic film making, and revels at the progression of modern technical

advances in film artistry.

As portrayed in the movie, Georges began filmmaking by observing a demonstration of one of

the early Lumire brothers' film shorts about a train pulling into a station. The audience is seen

startled as the train comes rushing past the screen. With Hugo being cast and shown in 3D, this

movie magic is now brought to the next level, and even better as Scorsese masterfully brings

the characters to life in 3D not just simply for the cheap thrills of having screen elements

popping outat the audience like the earlier Lumire brothers shorts. Scorseses Hugo is clearly

something dear to his heart as he takes great care in capturing the right depth needed to make

even the 3-D version worth seeing. He brings elements together to tell a story that is more vivid

and realistic and gives the movie a feeling of being realto the audience, rather than simply to

improve animation. Finally, his use of actual film footage from Mlis work is a testament to the

importance of preserving old film for future generations.

I believe that moviegoers seeking to find a deep, rich story that is based on emotions and

situations that can be easily found in real life will appreciate both the complexity and downright

simplicity of Hugos journey. Furthermore, the righteous artistry of Martin Scorseses movie

prowess, fueled by his love for film and his personal mission to make available relics of cinema

for generations to come are, even more so, edified by this movie masterpiece an Oscar-

nominated film and instant classic that will clearly be appreciated for decades to come.

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