Hugo movie review - Aussieboyreviews
IS HUGO REALLY MARTIN SCORSESE’S LOVE LETTER TO CINEMA?
From the outside, it looks like a magical adventure for families. In reality, it’s a profound love letter of a film about cinema magic for movie-lovers. Hugo may not be Scorsese’s greatest movie, but it’s truly a mystical, lovely family film.
Storyline
An orphaned young boy named Hugo living in the walls of a train station who loves working around the station clocks in an early 1930s Paris becomes compelled in a mystery surrounding a broken automation left to him by his late father.
Movie Images
Movie details
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Helen McCrory, Christopher Lee
Writer: John Logan
Release Date (Australia): 12 January 2012
Runtime: 126 minutes/2h 6m
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Language: English
CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)
Thematic elements include loss and the implied death of a child’s father by fire, mild scary scenes and perilous situations, including nightmare sequences, destruction and scenes in which a child jumping onto a train track in front of oncoming trains.
A dog is viewed biting at a man’s hand.
None.
None.
The film contains very mild verbal references to sex.
mpaa rating
PG (for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking)
Aussie boy's thoughts
Disguised as a visually stunning family adventure, Hugo is a truly lovely, lively and magical movie experience about the magic of movie experiences. You can tell that this is exactly what possibly the greatest film director of all time Martin Scorsese wanted for this film, because the idea of him doing a family adventure is surprising. But in fact, this movie is more of a love letter to cinema than usual entertainment that appears in cinemas.
A high amount of the film’s delightful impact is achieved through Scorsese using the advanced technology in filmmaking, which really alines perfectly with the main point of the film, and the wonderful acting. No offense intended, but only a blind person could deny that this is Scorsese’s best-looking movie to date, with obvious special effects and CGI work that captures the whole setting through the perspective of a bright-minded lead character.
Hugo, the lead character and the title of the film, is a young boy who displays a clear passion for anything mechanical and Asa Butterfield delivers this character perfectly. He is extremely talented and capable of expressing emotions children experience that feel and appear very real. But there are also some seemingly antagonistic characters, one hilarious and one serious, who we end up understanding and having some empathy for.
But the most beautiful thing about this movie is director Martin Scorsese’s reason for taking this project. Not only does he direct it and craft it wonderfully, but it’s a film where he as a filmmaker explores the history of movies and the love and dedication that goes behind creating them. This is specifically what makes Hugo a must-see for those who love cinema and movies, but the adventure story may be mildly futile without it.
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