Hugo (U)

Happy Christmas readers! Hugo is a perfect family film, for this time of year especially. (To my readers in South Africa, unfortunately you'll have to wait until February to see it)!

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

Hugo (U)

Martin Scorsese’s first foray into family entertainment has produced one of the very best films of the year. Hugo is an orphan living in a 1930s Paris rail station. Skilled with mechanics and in love with the movies, he lives a lonely existence maintaining the stations complicated clocks and trying to mend a robot left to him by his father. Ever dodging the dastardly Station Inspector, Hugo’s adventures bring him to a mysterious toy shop owner and his bookish daughter Isabelle. As Hugo and Isabelle form an unlikely friendship the tale of the boy’s past unfolds, interwoven with the history of early cinema.

Best known for his violent and bravura gangster movies, here Scorsese brings every ounce of his virtuoso directing skills and unrivaled technical mastery to younger audiences. A champion of film preservation, Scorsese uses Hugo to share his love of cinema with a new generation, and as the credits roll many parents are going to be hearing their little ones chirp “I want to be a film director when I grow up!”

That said, compared to more typical family adventure films Hugo is likely a little on the slow side for some. For each exhilarating chase through the crowded station there are two or more flashbacks to the dawn of filmmaking, with beautiful recreations of early films such as the seminal ‘Le voyage dans la lune’ (1902). While magical and inspiring for most, it may be less engaging for very young children.

The story’s theme is rediscovering purpose: Hugo tries to work out what his father’s robot is for; a retired filmmaker is reminded what he was born to do, and Hugo and Isabelle wonder how they fit into the world. The point is that if we lose our purpose in life then we are as broken as Hugo’s robot, and the teaching in the book of Ecclesiastes’ that there is nothing better than to find contentment in whatever God has given us to do, definitely resonates with that.

Chloë Grace Moretz is charming as Isabelle, and although Asa Butterfield is not quite as good as the title character he still does plenty to win the audience’s empathy. With the cast also featuring greats such as Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee, and the cinematography showcasing the best of use 3D to date, Hugo is an emotional, edifying and truly exceptional silver screen experience for all ages.