Scorsese's Passion Project

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2017)

𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜 gives viewers a reason to fall in love with cinema the same way 𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑜 (1988) did. The film follows Hugo Cabret, the son of a clock mechanic who, after his father's sudden death, becomes an orphan. Hugo then makes it his duty to finish the last thing him and his father were working on, a broken automaton. The visuals in 𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜 show the intricacy of set design and do a good job at recreating Gare Montparnasse in the 1930s the movie was also shot in 3D. 𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜 also contains great acting from everyone involved. Asa Butterfield and Chloë Grace Mortez provide great performances as the two main stars and are genuinely likable characters with great chemistry together. Another enjoyable performance is Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Georges Méliès was also a highlight as he plays a disgruntled former filmmaker looking for purpose in his life post cinema. 𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜 is able to blend the fictitious with the real and it works seamlessly. Martin Scorsese clearly wanted to make a different picture this time around. Few films give the viewer the same sense sense of hope and inspiration that 𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜 does and luckily, all ages are able to be inspired by this movie.