Scorsese's children's movie takes an unexpected detour

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2011)

Hugo begins as a great kids movie but perhaps Scorsese gets a bit distracted and takes us on a detour involving the birth of the movie industry. Hugo is an orphan who lives in a Parisian railway station and whose job is to wind the clocks in the station. His life story is quite sad and the opening part of the movie explains how he became an orphan.
In his spare time he is rebuilding a metal robot that his father was working on when he died. While looking for spare parts for the robot he has a confrontation with an elderly man who runs a toy shop in the station. The man (played by Ben Kingsley) also seems to have a sad life story that he doesn't want to share. Hugo also meets the godchild of the shop owner (Chloe Sevigny) who introduces him to world of books.
Scorsese's consummate movie making skill is evident from nearly every shot as he brilliantly creates the magical world of the railway station and Hugo's life within its walls.
However towards the end of the movie Scorsese decides to change the main theme of the movie and it becomes an explanation of the early days of European cinema. I think that this part of the movie may not appeal to younger viewers who will be more interested in Hugo's story, which is overshadowed for the last part of the movie.
I enjoyed the movie but perhaps children won't appreciate Scorsese's homage to early cinema towards the end.