Hugo is an orphan boy living in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. He learned to fix clocks and other gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use keeping the train station clocks running. The only thing that he has left that connects him to his dead father is an automaton (mechanical man) that doesn't work without a special key. Hugo needs to find the key to unlock the secret he believes it contains. On his adventures, he meets George Melies, a shopkeeper, who works in the train station, and his adventure-seeking god-daughter. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has buried inside regarding his past.Written by
napierslogs
While most of the movie was shot in the studio in London, two weeks of location shooting were done in Paris. See more »
Goofs
During one scene in the book shop, Isabelle is clearly seen walking in front of Hugo, who stops behind for a moment. Immediately in the next shot, Hugo is walking in front of Isabelle. See more »
Quotes
Isabelle:
Come on.
Hugo Cabret:
Where are we going?
Isabelle:
Only to the most wonderful place on earth. It's Neverland and Oz and Treasure Island all wrapped into one.
See more »
Crazy Credits
There is only one opening credit, the film's title, which does not appear until nearly 15 minutes into the film. See more »
Since its release, I've been confused why Martin Scorsese made this film. I knew very little about it of course, only that it was an adventure movie about an orphan boy living in the walls of a Paris train station. It certainly doesn't sound very Scorsese-like.
However that is merely the framing for what is an ode to the earliest days of cinema, and in particular one of its true pioneers, Georges Melies. With references to "Arrival of a Train" – one of the world's first films by the Lumiere brothers, Melies's "A Trip to the Moon" and many others, this really is a treat for movie fans. Yes on a very basic level it is a children's movie, but really there's far more here for adults. Scorsese wonderfully juxtaposes his most technologically advanced film yet to demonstrate the genius and inventiveness of cinema in its earliest days.
There are fine performances from the two children, as well as Ben Kingsley as Melies and Sasha Baron Cohen as a determined and love struck station inspector. I actually thought that Helen McCrory stole the show as Melies' wife Mama Jeanne.
I never got to see Hugo in 3D, but the blu ray version looks truly sumptuous, with some breath taking imagery of early 20th century Paris. The film does tailor off significantly towards the end, with Scorsese seemingly unsure of what to do with the final act once the children had solved their mystery. What comes before is truly magical though and this film gets a big thumbs up from me.
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Since its release, I've been confused why Martin Scorsese made this film. I knew very little about it of course, only that it was an adventure movie about an orphan boy living in the walls of a Paris train station. It certainly doesn't sound very Scorsese-like.
However that is merely the framing for what is an ode to the earliest days of cinema, and in particular one of its true pioneers, Georges Melies. With references to "Arrival of a Train" – one of the world's first films by the Lumiere brothers, Melies's "A Trip to the Moon" and many others, this really is a treat for movie fans. Yes on a very basic level it is a children's movie, but really there's far more here for adults. Scorsese wonderfully juxtaposes his most technologically advanced film yet to demonstrate the genius and inventiveness of cinema in its earliest days.
There are fine performances from the two children, as well as Ben Kingsley as Melies and Sasha Baron Cohen as a determined and love struck station inspector. I actually thought that Helen McCrory stole the show as Melies' wife Mama Jeanne.
I never got to see Hugo in 3D, but the blu ray version looks truly sumptuous, with some breath taking imagery of early 20th century Paris. The film does tailor off significantly towards the end, with Scorsese seemingly unsure of what to do with the final act once the children had solved their mystery. What comes before is truly magical though and this film gets a big thumbs up from me.