Film Review - Hugo - by Martin Scorcese

Hugo is set in Paris after WWI

Martin Scorcese's latest film Hugo is an exquisite, imaginative homage to one of the early pioneers of film through a rich visual narrative and not a too little amount of sentimentality. The story revolves around a young orphan named Hugo Cabret who lives in the Paris railway station, Gare Montparnasse, winding the station clocks and obtaining parts to activate an automaton his late father had been repairing. Through his efforts to find replacement parts he comes into contact with an enigmatic toymaker who turns out to be the French filmmaker Georges Mélièse, living in obscurity. The relationship between the two is the focus of the story and each finds their own place in life through this interaction.  The film may have won mainly technical key creative Academy Awards but as a story of a journey and redemption it certainly does hit the mark. The 3D FX and CGI platform works superbly with this film and provides the additional dimension to bring characters to life in a period setting.

Ben Kingsley and Asa Buttefield in a still from 'Hugo'