Moving and visually brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2011)

What begins as a fanciful mystery evolves into a wonder-filled history of the cinema. Scorsese is the first director I've seen to understand the real potential of 3D, and he uses it as magically as the mysterious object of this film. At its heart, the movie is about finding your place in the world, finding where you fit it. All of the characters have lost something in their lives and, like a puzzle missing a piece, are searching for that perfect fit. Scorsese captures the beauty, wonder and danger of Paris in the 1930s as seen through a child's eyes. His cinematography is breathtaking. The acting -- including a surprisingly poignant performance by Sasha Baron Cohen -- is first rate and engaging. I constantly marveled at the twists and turns the story took, always in a refreshingly believable way. This is an exquisite cinematic experience that really should be seen in 3D to be fully appreciated. But even without the extra dimension, this is still filmmaking at its best.