When I was in the fifth grade, I read a book on the history of cinema (what the title was, I have completely forgotten) with pictures of early films from pioneers like Charlie Chaplin, the Lumière Brothers, and Georges Méliès. I was utterly in awe of the visual details and text, as well as the historical anecdotes like the urban legend of the Lumière Brothers' 1896 short film L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat (translated to English as Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat) and its first screening, which according to the story, mesmerized the audience so much that they screamed at the sight of the train coming towards the camera. A sample film strip was provided on the right side of the book, which would play a significant role later in my experience with Hugo.
Fast-forward to 2011, and I see a trailer for director Martin Scorsese's newest movie, Hugo (2011), a live-action adaptation of writer Brian Selznick's 2007 book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Since I was not old enough to see Scorsese's more recognizable titles like Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990), this production seemed like a more accessible introduction to his filmography. That November, I go into the theater assuming that, according to the film's trailer, it was going to solely be about a boy named Hugo Cabret (played by Asa Butterfield) solving a mystery involving the mysterious death of his father (played by Jude Law) in a fire. However, that quickly proved incorrect as the movie revealed itself storywise to be about something completely different. Initially, I was angry for being misled. However, that anger subsided as it was gradually revealed as Scorsese's love letter to early cinema, specifically the life and work of French film director and innovator Georges Méliès (played by Sir Ben Kingsley). I was delighted to recognize not only the archival footage and faithful recreations of Méliès making his productions like Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) (translated as A Trip to the Moon) playing up on the big screen but see what I learned from that book at elementary school.
The actual plot goes as follows: Hugo, an orphaned boy, living inside and taking care of the clocks at the Gare Montparnasse railway station in 1930s Paris, is caught stealing mechanical parts from a toy store run by the grizzled and stern-faced owner, Georges, needed to mend a broken automaton he and his late father started repairing and documenting through a notebook. Georges takes Hugo's notebook intending to burn it, but Georges' kind-hearted goddaughter Isabelle (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) approaches Hugo and encourages him to demand it back. Hugo then agrees to work in Georges' toy store as compensation, and soon, like the clocks Hugo fixes and maintains, all the missing pieces to the various mysteries surrounding him and his friends start falling into place.
The cast is extraordinary, with the standouts being Butterfield as Hugo and Kingsley as an older Méliès. Butterfield brings a quiet vulnerability and emotional depth that only very few young actors like him could have pulled off. His side adventures with Isabelle looking through libraries and sneaking into a cinema to see Harold Lloyd's Safety Last! (1923) are charming, and his simultaneous budding father figure-adoptive son relationship with Georges is heartwarming. Kingsley brings to the screen a broken man who once contained such optimism and an innovative spirit for enchanting audiences through cinematic and technical wizardry but had long since accepted his fate that the world had forgotten about him and his works since World War I when his studio was forced into bankruptcy and sell off the rights to his films. This tragic point in his life simultaneously serves as an extraordinary tale about cinema's enduringly powerful influence on others and their subsequent passion for keeping the memories alive, as represented by film historian René Tabard (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), who is given the surprise of a lifetime upon learning that Georges Méliès is still alive. In addition, Sacha Baron Cohen brings an awkward charm to his authoritative Station Inspector Gustave Dasté, who, while mercilessly catching and sending lone children to the orphanage, tries to overcome his shyness when talking to a flower lady named Lisette (played by Emily Mortimer).
This movie's visual effects resemble that of a storybook illustration come to life or a moving painting. The CGI effects for moving objects like steam trains and set extensions in the background come across as larger-than-life and magical-looking rather than photorealistic. There are also plenty of visual and stylistic references to not only traditional visual effects techniques like the use of miniature models and multiple exposures, but also historical events like the infamous Montparnasse derailment of 1895, in which the Granville-Paris Express experienced a brake failure, overran the buffers, crashed through the station wall, and fell into the streets. The musical score from Howard Shore brings a dreamlike and fantastical sound to the movie, which dramatically enhances the experience of seeing and hearing the world through Hugo's eyes and ears. Also, this film was shot in and theatrically released in 3D, which further immersed the storytelling experience.
Contrary to his line, "Happy endings only happen in the movies", Georges Méliès and his work did, both in real life and in this film, receive a happy ending by being rediscovered and recognized for his achievements later in life. Thanks in part to passionate preservationists and filmmakers like Scorsese, these and many other cinematic treasures can continue to be rediscovered, preserved, analyzed, reassessed, enjoyed, and shared by future generations of moviegoers, film critics, aspiring actors, actresses, directors, production designers, editors, special effects and makeup artists, and so on. As an aspiring film critic and writer, I am honored and thankful to be a part of this community, thanks to this fantastic movie, Hugo.
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