hugo is movie magic

The 3D version of Martin Scorsese's Hugo, his adaptation of Brian Selznick's wonderful book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, was probably better than most of the 3D movies out there, but once and for all it convinced me that 3D is just not a necessary moviegoing experience. The fabulous look of Hugo is as much in honor of Selznick's visual tone-poem as it is Scorsese's moving homage to cinematic pioneer Georges Méliès. Méliès was a magician, both off and on screen, and would have fiddled with 3D technology in his time, if he could. But his films were full of imaginative special effects without it. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing Hugo again, but in 2D, so I can concentrate more on the compositions of the scenes than the realistic placement of objects in space. Hugo is the best-looking film Scorsese has created. Never known for his visuals, Scorsese's always been more of a storyteller, but for Hugo he and his production team (cinematographer Robert Richardson and production designer Dante Ferretti) pulled out all the stops.

My 3D rant aside, Scorsese manages to take what is already a great work of art, and improve it in its translation to film. He builds up the character of the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen, in a humorous and surprisingly subtle and touching performance) and adds human dimension to all of the characters, which were a bit thin on the page. He also makes the Gare Montparnasse itself come alive as a character. Hugo the film is related to its original source, but transcends it, much like The Wizard of Oz.

The mostly British cast features young actors Asa Butterfield as Hugo and Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle. They are real kids, full of fun and adventure as they try to puzzle out why Isabelle's guardian, Papa Georges (Ben Kingsley), seems so disturbed by Hugo's notebook, which once belonged to his deceased father (Jude Law). The notebook contains a drawing of an automaton that should suggest the film Metropolis to many in the audience. Almost all of the secrets and discoveries in Hugo lead back to the magic of filmmaking. Hugo shares his love of movies with Isabelle, introducing her to the films of Harold Lloyd (especially Safety Last! ), Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. Scorsese and his make-up artists also pull some movie magic, depicting Kingsley and wife Mama Jeanne (Helen McCrory) in the past and present, effortlessly going from youthful to aged and back again. Other residents of the train station in small but important parts are played by Christopher Lee, Emily Mortimer, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, and Ray Winstone.

Scorcese has taken his natural exuberance for movies and brought it both emotionally and visually to Hugo. He allows himself a small cameo appearance, a la Alfred Hitchcock, but his real stand-in is played by Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire), as Rene Tabard, Méliès biographer, fan boy and film enthusiast.

Not only will a whole new generation discover the work of Méliès — the creation of some of his most classic films are reproduced here, in a direct translation of wonder — but they may discover Scorsese as well. Scorsese understands that movie magic doesn't come from just the viewing of a single film, but the history of it, the catalogue of the auteur, the sheer enthusiasm for the medium. Hugo is pure magic.

the invention of hugo cabret

I've had this book on my shelf for about a year, but never got around to it, as it seemed to be the sort of book to immerse oneself in, and I wasn't yet ready to dedicate the time. Knowing that there is a movie adaptation by Martin Scorsese in the offing, and that my daughter and I most definitely plan to see it, finally prompted me to dive into The Invention of Hugo Cabret and I'm so glad I did. It's unlike any other book out there. Not strictly young adult fiction or a children's book, but not a straight novel, either. It has the feeling of a picture book and even a graphic novel at times, but it isn't exactly either of those formats. It is a fairy tale about a resourceful young orphan who lives in the interior spaces of a Paris train station (Montparnasse) in 1931.

Twelve year-old Hugo lives alone, undetected, continuing the work of his missing uncle, which is to keep all of the many station clocks in good running order. But Hugo's life in the shadows is about to come to an end, as he is pulled out into the open and into the lives of a young girl, Isabelle, and her godfather, Papa Georges, who runs a toyshop in the train station.

Hugo inherited a love for all things mechanical from his father, and luckily, also the skill to fix anything and make it work. He finds an automaton that his father was trying to repair, and decides to fix it on his own, convinced that somehow he will discover a hidden message from his father.


The Invention of Hugo Cabret is also about magic and a love of early cinema and the work of Georges Méliès. Many young people who will read the book and see the movie will be hearing about Méliès for the very first time. Hopefully, after being introduced to his work they may retain the sense of wonder and magic that his movies possess. His most well-known film was A Trip to the Moon [Le Voyage dans la lune], made in 1902, with its famous image of a spaceship poking the man in the moon in the eye.

Author and illustrator Brian Selznick has really done his homework on Méliès. He has also combined some tried-and-true elements of classic children's books — an orphan, a magical toy, a fantasy world — to create some beautiful imagery, both in his graphite drawings and in his prose. I can't wait to read this again with my daughter, or just flip through the drawings, skipping the prose, like a flipbook.

The story verges on the dark side at times, the illustrations giving it just the right mood and feeling. At one point in the story, while Hugo and Isabelle watch a film together that features an amazing chase sequence Hugo thinks to himself that "every good story should end with a big, exciting chase." Selznick is as good as his word, and many of the most interesting and exciting passages in The Invention of Hugo Cabret are told strictly through images, like film. It's a deceptively simple story, but its ideas and themes stay with the reader long after the end title.

Some films by Méliès: