The Invention of Hugo Cabret

 The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a story about a 12 year old orphan who lives within the walls of a train station in 1930’s Paris who embarks a mysterious adventure that involves him, an old magician and a robot.

Cast: Sir. Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jude Law.

Hugo is definitely one of the most mentioned films at the end of last year. It is an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a literary adventure targeted towards children. Its main character, Hugo (played by Asa Butterfield), who stared in The Boy with the Stripped Pajamas, embarks in a search for a connection with his passed away father by attempting to fix an animatron, which hopefully has a message for Hugo. In the process of collecting several pieces, Hugo meets Georges Meliés (played by Sir. Ben Kingsley), an old filmmaker who works in the station’s toyshop. Without knowing it, these two characters will make a connection that will last forever. But this is just a premise to a fantastic story where a relationship between man and technology is born in order to find a profound connection with the past.

 

To understand a little more about the depth of this story, it is worthy to mention that George Meliés was a revolutionary in the film industry and is considered a pioneer in the special effects and editing of film. After dedicating years of his life to magic, his amusement for the Lumiere brother’s cinematograph led him to explore the method of film as an entertainment media in the times of war. By pursuing his instincts, this filmmaker was the sole creator of films like Journey to the Moon (1903), a film that was Selznick’s inspiration to develop his book. But Selznick was no stranger to film; in fact, Selznick learned everything he knows about film when he was just a kid from David O. Selznick, known for his productions King Kong (the original), and Gone with the Wind amongst others. After writing the book, Selznick decided to replace as much of the text as he could with imagery, which were also used by the filmmakers as storyboard images for the big screen adaptation.

The greatest surprise came when director Martin Scorsese announced that he would be making the book’s adaptation. His inspiration was his daughter, who read the book and asked her father to make “a film I can watch for once” as Scorsese revealed in a red carpet interview at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. More than one person was surprised to see the director of Taxi Driver and Shutter Island make such a masterpiece of a family film. In fact, the International 3D Society has rewarded Scorsese with the Harold Lloyd award for his stunning use of 3D.

Being his first encounter with 3D, Scorsese is able to transmit a Paris that has never been seen before and a depth that manages to involve the audience in a magical experience of the Parisian life in the 30’s. His job was so good, that even Steven Spielberg confessed it was the best use of 3D he has ever seen, and this includes his own films. Scorsese’s development of the story and his composition are flawless and the cast direction really demonstrates that Martin is, without a doubt, the perfect director to tell a story about film history. Nothing like a great filmmaker recreating what was made by another great film and entertainment magician.

Hugo was definitely a golden closing to 2011’s films. With more than $64,000,000 global sales, it was more than expected for this film to win a Golden Globe Award and for it to continue getting recognition during 2012. Hugo is simply a magical adventure for all ages and it will make its viewers happy as it ends. It is also a film that says much more about Martin Scorsese than any of his films.