Typically the first thing I do when sitting down to watch a film either to
review or just for my own enjoyment, is to attempt to ascertain what genre the
movie falls into. This process is not so much to categorize a film in order to
confine it in a restrictive box but rather as the initial step in endeavoring to
understand what the filmmaker was hoping to accomplish. The elements of comedy,
drama or suspense diverge sufficiently that it would be a disservice to the
film’s creator to attempt to apply the characteristics pertinent to a specific
typo of film improperly to another type of movie. Under normal circumstances
this methodology has served me well but in the case of the motion picture under
consideration here, ‘Hugo’ it fell woefully short. The reason for this is simple
and itself provides insight into the movie. This approach works fine with normal
films but the issue with ‘Hugo’ is it is far from a normal movie, it is an
extraordinary example of the cinematic arts. Any cinemaphile would expect
nothing less from a filmmaker the statue of Martin Scorsese but in this case the
favorite son of the New York City film community outdid himself. He created an
opus that readily establishes itself as unique among the best respected oeuvre
in the annals of cinema. Some standard genres come to mind like fantasy or
mystery, adventure or family film but they cannot adequately describe what kind
of film ‘Hugo’ is. This film is ground breaking in every possible way from its
impact on the filmmaking process to the personal style of Mr. Scorsese. The
movie perfectly blends a rich and deeply emotional story with some of the
exciting and innovative use of visual techniques I have ever had the privilege
of watching. Over the years I have literally watch thousands of films but I have
never seen anything that remotely approaches this film. It took home some five
Academy Awards but the film and Scorsese was denied the top honors in part
because there were nine films in contention for Best Picture but this does not
infer one iota of diminished quality. This film will forever remain a
masterpiece.
Hugo Cabre (Asa Butterfield) is a pre teen boy living in Paris with his
widowed father (Jude Law) a clock maker in the City of Lights, Paris. The father
and son have a solid, loving relationship but the one thing the boy enjoyed most
was when his father took him to the moving pictures to see the works of a famous
filmmaker. What fascinated Hugo about this new art form was how it made it
possible to not only depict reality but in its potential to bring dreams to
life. When his father dies tragically, burned alive in a fire at a nearby museum
Hugo is taken in by his uncle Claude (Ray Winstone). Claude is a watchmaker
suffering from alcoholism. His job was to maintain the many clocks in the
cavernous railway station, Gare Montparnasse. Uncle Claude decides to teach the
boy the family trade and begins to instruct him on the intricate process of
caring for the wondrous clocks. Shortly after the lad gets the hang of the
mechanics his uncle suddenly and mysteriously disappears. With nowhere to go
Hugo takes to a covert life hiding deep within the labyrinth of passages and
service corridors that run throughout the immense structure. He stays alive by
stealing food from the myriad of passengers constantly passing through the busy
railway station. Hugo comes upon the broken pinnacle of his father’s life’s
work, an automaton. The robot is designed to write a message with a pen; Hugo
becomes obsessed with reaping the mechanical man certain it contains a message
from his father. His task involves replacing broken gears and mechanism that he
pilfered from a toyshop owned by Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley). Georges
confiscates the boy’s notebook detailing the plans resulting in Hugo devising a
recovery mission. He is discovered by Georges and a deal is struck; the boy can
earn the book back by working in the toyshop. It turns out that Georges is a
filmmaker responsible for the movies he enjoyed with his father. The filmmaker
uses his understanding of mechanisms to create many of the special effects he
uses in his fanciful films. Hugo becomes close with Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz),
Georges’ granddaughter, and the two bonds over a mutual love of film. The
remainder of the tale unfolds in a steady, gentle fashion that pulls you into
the story enfolding you with its intricate design.
Many people have a tendency to equate the films of Martin Scorsese with hard
hitting drama, emotionally intense and frequently a platform for adult themes
and language. If someone stated he would create a film suitable for a family to
enjoy together it would seem unlikely. The thing is Scorsese is one of the
greatest directors the cinematic art has ever seen. "Hugo’ is also the first
film by Scorsese to utilize the new 3D technique that is gaining popularity. The
problem I have had with most 3D movies I’ve encountered is the directors just
haven’t become adept at using the extra dimension. In most cases the show off
with simplistic tricks to demonstrate the novelty of the format. We typically
get to see cylindrical objects thrust out of the plane of the movie visually
assaulting the audience. This is similar to how the early adoptees of color
cinematography used garish colors the distracted from the movie. Scorsese
understands how to use 3D on an infinitival level. He has always been a master
of visually detailed and fascinating stylistic choices. It seems that he always
thought in 3D for his films but it took all these years for the technology to
finally catch up with his creativity, vision and genus. The visuals,
performances and story all perfectly mesh much like the beautiful precision seen
with the gears that Hugo mastered. This movie would be ground breaking even in
its standard 2D format but in 3D it transcends anything you have seen before.
Undoubtedly many others will follow grasping the proper way to infuse 3D into a
film but we can look back to ‘Hugo’ and cite Scorsese as the trail blazer.
Shoot The Moon: The Making Of Hugo
The Cinemagician, Georges Melies
The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo
Big Effects, Small Scale
Sacha Baron Cohen: Role Of A Lifetime