Customer Reviews

Hugo

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This film is a love letter to the early days of cinema. It is wonderfully acted, very touching, and you'll learn some history along the way. It does not have a lot of action, but the views are breathtaking, the subject matter compelling (though it might not hold interest for most younger children), and a great chance for director Martin Scorsese to make the dream fantasy film he was always wanted to make. I highly recommend it!

I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret when it was first published - and loved it. Usually I don't give the film version a chance when that happens. (For example, I did not watch Angela's Ashes, nor did I watch Water for Elephants. For some reason, I gave Hugo a chance.)

Wow. I'm glad I did. This film is not only very faithful to the book - but sets the book in motion - which is, of course, entirely appropriate.

The choice of actors is perfect. The sets are fantastical and quite entirely beautiful. The photography is stunning. Martin Scorcese has outdone himself here.

This film picks up quite a pace and keeps you on the edge of your seat from then on. But it has a very worthwhile message, too.

Just to give you a sense of my context, I have a few film favourites that have been made (primarily) for children:
Into the West, with: Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Ciarán Fitzgerald, Rúaidhrí Conroy, David Kelly
The Secret of Roan Inish, with: Jeni Courtney, Mick Lally, Eileen Colgan, Richard Sheridan, John Lynch, Susan Lynch, Cillian Byrne
The Three Lives of Thomasina, with: Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, and the voice of Elspeth March as Thomasina the cat.

Hugo is now on my list.

Hugo(released Nov/11) stars Ben Kingsley as George Melies,Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret,Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle,Sacha Baron Cohen as Inspector Gustave,Jude Law as Hugo's father,Christopher Lee as Monsieur Labisse,and an astounding supporting cast of other actors.This is a nostalgic look back at film making's earliest days and how a young boy is the catalyst for one its most honoured creator's deserved return to the limelight.Beautifully photographed and set decorated,this piece almost immediately brings you into the film titled young boys life and world,and from there the adventure never stops building to its inevitable climax.
The story takes place,I would guess,in the late 20s.Hugo is a young boy living with his father,who works in a museum.Hugo has become a tinkerer of sorts,like his father,and both work together on repairing and bringing back to life an automaton Hugo's father claimed from the museum's basement.One night his father is fatally caught in a conflagration at the museum and Hugo is forced to go and live with his inebriated uncle.The uncle tends the clock works at the Gare Montparnasse,the central train station in Paris.And when his uncle is away,which is quite often,it is left up to Hugo to pick up the slack.Eventually his uncle is found dead,and he is left an orphan.
When Hugo has down time he works away at the automaton.He regularly scrounges parts from an old man who runs a small toy store in the train station.One day the man catches the boy and Hugo is forced to empty his pockets.Among the items the man confiscates is Hugo's diary which his father kept while working on the automaton.That night Hugo follows the man home and speaks to his young god-daughter,who promises to keep her father from burning the book and to help him get it back.
Next day Hugo is hired by the old man in the toy store to fix his toys.In return he says he will eventually return his book.One day Hugo takes the old mans god daughter to the movies(to which she has never been)and in return she introduces him to a local bookseller.Then Hugo introduces her to the automaton he has been trying to fix.In the process Hugo discovers she,coincidentally,has the heart shaped key that is needed to turn the machine on.The key is inserted and the machine comes to life.Hugo is expecting a message from his father but instead a drawing is made of a scene from an old film produced in the late 1800s by George Melies.They both return to the girls home and present the drawing to her god-mother who wants them to forget about it.Just then she hears her husband waking up and the children are shuffled into a side room.They search for the diary while in there and find a heavy box hidden in a secret drawer in the top of an old armoire.The chair she stands on collapses and the box and her come tumbling down.Papers scatter everywhere,but all have drawings from other scenes of Melies films.The old man enters the room and can only sit despondent at the supposed betrayal Hugo has perpetrated.
The children return to the bookseller wanting to know the best place to find books on old film making.They end up at a specific area at the local library and while reading one particular chapter in a book about George Melies,it dawns on them that her god-father is none other than George Melies himself.Suddenly a stranger appears behind them,who turns out to be the very author of the book they are reading.He asks about their interest in Melies and she tells him her god father is he.The author is incredulous but nonetheless takes the chance and returns home with the children.As soon as her god mother opens the door the author,who met both her and Melies when he was a child,recognizes her instantly.He expresses his gratitude for Mr.Melies inspiration,who is at the moment sleeping.Before parting he gently asks whether she would like to see one of her husbands works.She acquiesces and before long the projector is ticking away,frame by magical frame,the only known remaining print of a George Melies film.They all sit in amazement and when the film ends Mr Melies walks in on them.He instantly starts recalling in brief his career in film making with his wife,and the calamity that led to him having to sell his films for scrap and burning all his sets.He thought no one cared any longer.
Hugo excuses himself to return to the train station to retrieve the automaton.Along the way he gets arrested by a station gendarme who has been dogging him constantly.When Hugo fails to return promptly Mr Melies and his god daughter return to the station and rescue Hugo just in time.It turns out the automaton he and Hugos father work so judiciously on for so long,originally belonged to Melies himself,who was also a tinkerer and an inventor.He had donated the automaton to the museum,but when the fire destroyed it he assumed it has been lost also.
The film ends as the author introduces Melies to a packed audience,who are there to watch again Melies works that have been rediscovered and lovingly restored.Hugo has found a new home and life with the Melies family and the film fades out as we stare at the automaton;the very thing that brought a man and his son close together and has now brought Hugo a whole new life.
As much as the film is a children's adventure,it is also a marvelous educational tool.The film's own subject matter,the French film pioneer George Melie's and his works,which are on prominent display off and on throughout,are absolutely marvelous to look at.On top of this we have a myriad of references to stars of the 20s such as Douglas Fairbanks,Max Linder,Charly Chase,while we actually see Buster Keaton,Charlie Chaplin and especially Harold Lloyd doing his thing in Safety Last.We also get the point of the neglect of film over time and what we have lost,and what we need to do to protect it in order to ensure their longevity or just plain existence.The film also has some neat touches such as the guitar player in a band at the station,who more than likely is a Django Reinhardt reference.So much going on in this film,but all lovingly wrapped up in what essentially is a children's story.All players here do a fantastic job in their portrayals.
Technically speaking the film is its w/s a/r of 1:85:1 and is clear and crisp.The only extra is a making of featurette.
All in all a highly recommended film ,a children's adventure cunningly concealing a message about old cinema and its preservation.Well acted,well shot and well deserved of a place on your DVD shelf.

The entire film is a delight, well worth viewing again (& again) to appreciate its entrancing component parts. The involvement of Ben Kingsley & Johnny Depp, among many others, guarantees excellence.

Hugo is a masterpiece of film making. Set in the magnificent tapestry of medieval Paris, follow the adventures of a small boy, who after the death of his father, is left to survive solely by wit and determination. A delightful tale of courage, redemption, and ultimately salvation. Highly recommended to those who appreciate fine acting against impeccable cinematography.

Excellent sur toute la ligne. Produit de première qualité et expédié rapidement !
Exactement comme promis et selon la réputation du fournisseur.

Hugo is a beautifully photographed video with a great storyline: an orphaned boy living inside the walls of a train station, taking care of the station's large clock and trying to keep clear of the station guard. It's different...I think it appeals most to children aged 6-10.

To sum up my review, I kept expecting something exciting to happen, and then the movie ended. It was long and boring; the beginning was emotional and opened for a wide variety of plot lines; the plot line that evolved, however, was, well, not awful, but not really compelling. I have to admit that I did smile at the ending, though.

I would compare this film to Avatar, in which they are both beautifully filmed and yet extremely boring. It's not the kind of boring that makes you leave the cinema. If gives you some threads. You keep on waiting for something good happen, but it never comes.

Hugo started out promising. The discovery of a robot that might lead to mystery. The movie ended up being an hour lecture on history of film. The celebration of film technology advancements. It is meant to be watched in 3D, which is the latest milestone of film technology. It's too meta. They forgot tell a story.