Hugo (2011)

Release date: November 23, 2011
Director: Martin Scorsese
Novel by: Brian Selznick
Screenplay by: John Logan
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, Emily Mortimer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Ray Winstone

Admit it: if you saw the trailer for Hugo [1], you would have never guessed that Martin Scorsese was the director. The man behind Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and currently serving as one of the producers for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, working on a 3-D family-friendly film? Unbelievable! However, Hugo turned out to be a charming film that is deserving of its Academy Award nominations.

Based on Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese’s film takes place in 1930s Paris and follows Hugo Cabret (Butterfiled), a young orphan who struggles through poverty and hunger as he keeps the clocks working on a major train station. At the same time, Hugo avoids getting caught by the inspector (Cohen), who enjoys packing runaway kids off to the orphanage.

Hugo also faces trouble when he encounters an old man (Kingsley), who runs a toy shop in the station and accuses Hugo of theft. However, Hugo ends up befriending his goddaughter, Isabelle (Moretz). Hugo’s friendship with Isabelle enables him to solve a mystery by fixing an automaton, which leads to a very surprising revelation.

I could say more, but I won’t. Because Hugo is something you have to see for yourself to completely appreciate. It has all the tools that great films boast, such as great acting, solid storytelling, character development, good pacing, beautiful visual effects and more. Hugo is also not totally family-friendly. Through  Hugo and Isabelle — wonderfully performed by Butterfield and Moretz, respectively — it also explores death and loss. The rest of the cast is pretty strong — yes, even Sacha Baron Cohen is fine here. Ben Kingsley’s performance during the final minutes is superb. It’s a shame he hasn’t been considered for award recognition.

As far as Hugo‘s use of 3D goes, it’s not really as groundbreaking as say, Avatar. However, Scorsese works the 3D format in a way that makes Hugo‘s imagery look elegant.  The amazing camerawork is some of the best I’ve seen in film in 2011.

But Hugo‘s strongest aspect is, without a doubt, the love for classic films. In particular, the works of George Méliès [1], highlighted throughout the film. If Midnight in Paris reminded the world of how lovely literature can be, then Hugo pretty much does the same for classic films. While Scorsese’s admiration for Méliès feels genuine, it also creates one problem: the classic film lovefest, as glorious as it is, ends up overshadowing the film’s characters and takes away some of the interest in them. Despite that problem, it still doesn’t harm the film much because Hugo is still enjoyable to watch.

If you really love movies, do yourself a favor and watch Hugo on the big screen if you still can — it’s a great cinematic experience. Easily one of 2011’s best films.

Rating: ★★★★¼ 

Rodrigo

YAM Magazine contributor, has a B. Sc. degree in Science/Pharmacy and is a very lazy person.

15 Responses

  1. amy says:

    “If Midnight in Paris reminded the world of how lovely literature can be, then Hugo pretty much does the same for classic films.”

    This is interesting, considering The Artist. Since you’ve watched Hugo before it, and I’ve seen The Artist first… I wonder how our opinions will differ.

    • Rodrigo says:

      @amy, You have to see Hugo to understand my point.

      By the way, I’m gonna watch The Artist in an hour. My brother loved it a lot and thinks it’s the best film of 2011. But I differ with him a lot, because I think either Hugo, Paris or Drive are the top films of 2011.

  2. ghost says:

    One of the best movies of the year!

  3. amy says:

    Okay, I’m back. I didn’t like it as much… probably solid 3.5 for me. The first 30min (except for the intro before the title shows up) is very slow and doesn’t really pick up until the George Melies storyline begins.

    I really feel conflicted hahaha I don’t know if I liked the film because I liked seeing Melies’ work like that, or if I actually cared for the storyline. I kinda liked the subplot with Cohen and Mortimer… but as far as Hugo or Isabelle – I didn’t really care too much for them.

    • Rodrigo says:

      @amy, Lol, I couldn’t give a shit about Cohen that much – he was a bit of a distraction.

      Yeah, GM’s work is awesome to watch the play Scorsese displayed it, but it also works against the film to a certain extent. I still enjoyed the hell out of Hugo. Don’t ruin it for me! Lol.

  1. April 30, 2012

    […] Hugo (MVP: Chlöe Moretz or Ben Kingsley) […]

  2. September 17, 2013

    […] of Martin Scorsese’s recent Oscar winning film Hugo know a bit more about Méliès and this film’s history than your average Joe. But, really, […]

  3. February 7, 2014

    […] will be released in 3D — at another shot at the technology after Martin Scorsese’s 2011 Hugo — on November 21st in the United States and dates expansion worldwide through December and […]

  4. April 10, 2014

    […] films like The Artist and Hugo released last year, classic film is becoming more and more visible and the TCMFF is the veritable […]

  5. May 1, 2014

    […] Hugo (2011) (雨果) [Trailer] […]

  6. September 5, 2014

    […] someone were to show me the trailer for Hugo without a shred of a clue as to who the director was, I would never have said Martin […]

  7. June 5, 2015

    […] not a straight biopic and seems to have magic realism elements, giving me hints of Guzaarish and Hugo. Let’s hope the script and the acting do justice to the character and the visuals. The film […]

  8. June 5, 2015

    […] y corriente, mostrando elementos de realismo mágico. Me recuerda mucho al estilo de Guzaarish y Hugo. Esperemos que el guión y las actuaciones estén al nivel del personaje, así como los elementos […]

Leave a Reply to RodrigoCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.