An absolutely MAGICAL film! A work of ART

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2011)

Three years ago, I picked up a book that I knew almost NOTHING about, save a couple of paragraphs of a review that I had read. That book was "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", the debut novel of established illustrator Brian Selznick. Faithful to his previous illustration work, Selznick chose to tell his story in a rather unusual fashion- using pictures and words. But "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is far from a GRAPHIC NOVEL. It is a novel with some breathtaking sketches. When I read that Martin Scorsessee was attached to adapt the book into a movie, in 3D no less, I was actually VERY excited. I felt that 3D was the BEST way to tackle such a visual novel, and it turns out that I was right, in some ways.
Scorsessee's adaptation of the novel, which went through several title changes before settling with "Hugo", received much praise for it's storytelling, and especially for its use of the "overrated" medium of 3D, particularly from "Avatar" and "Titanic" director James Cameron, who called the film the "Best use of 3D ever." Mr. Cameron knows his 3D, I trusted his word, and rightly so. As soon as the opening credits started, I became fully aware that I was in for a REAL TREAT.
"Hugo" is the story of a young orphan, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), who lives in the Paris train station during the 1930s. He has been alone since his father (Played in flashbacks by Jude Law) was killed in a tragic fire, and his uncle Claude (Ray Winstone), a frequently drunk man who worked as the timekeeper at the station disappeared. Hugo must move throughout the train station carefully, so to avoid the watchful eyes of Gustave (Sacha Baron-Cohen), the often comical station inspector. It's his sneakiness that gets him in trouble with an aging man known as Papa Georges (Sir Ben Kingsley), who runs a small toy stand at the station. Along with Georges' god-daughter, Isabel, Hugo embarks on a journey that is equal parts remarkable and magical, and one that is filled with long- lost secrets from the past.
"Hugo" is FAR from a carbon copy of Selznick's REMARKABLE novel, but it IS remarkable in it's own right. Scorsessee and his team PERFECTLY capture the look and feel of the novel's settings, and ESPECIALLY the characters. In the end, this is certainly Scorsessee's love letter to classic cinema, and to the French Filmmakers who he truly admires and looks up to. By the time the film ended, I was left truly moved, and with the impression that I had just had one of the most MAGICAL movie going experiences of my life.