Hugo - History, Passion, and Art.

Rating: Null/10 (16 December 2011)

Hugo! Darling Hugo. He lives in the walls in a French train station, fixing clocks and working on a magical little man. He encounters a toy maker who seems horrified at the thought of little mechanical men and the mystery unfolds. I won't spoil anything, but this is based on true events. In fact the most believable part (little French urchin living in a train station) was the fake part. Bravo, real life.
Hugo wasn't at all what I was expecting. I though it would be more of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close set in 1910s France – boy searching for the answers to life pertaining to his lost dad. Touching stuff. What I got was a celebration of film sneakily slipped in to a children's movie. From the scenes in the film to the actual clips shown as part of Hugo's journey to discovery, everything paid homage to the classics – Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Voyage to the Moon, - every piece of film celebrated the art. As someone who grew up on old films, I really enjoyed seeing these greats back on the big screen. They even got laughs from folks I suspect never knew these treasures existed.
That's not to say that every part of this modern film wasn't also spectacular. The opening shot made me dizzy, the colors were dazzling and rich, and even the costuming showed great attention to detail. Scorsese hasn't been my favorite director, but I appreciate his skill and his love of film. Well done to all involved, this is one of my favorites of the year!