Hugo (2011)

Nominee

Scorsese!! You made a kids film!!! And a good one at that.

At first I did not really appreciate what this film was...I kept hearing different things..."It's about a kid who lives in a clock!"...."It's about the filmmaker Georges Melies!"..."It's a Scorsese kid's film!" (Sorry, I, like everyone else, still can't get over that). Well it was no suprise to me that it was about all of those things, but what did suprise was how cohessive the story actually was, and how well Scorsese brought it to the screen.

In almost every aspect of this film it achieved an artistic perfection that truly aided the story. There are a number of motifs that I could use but I would like to touch on three in order to accentuate what made this movie a good watch.

1.) Clocks (time): Time is what carries us forward, what either makes us progress or leaves us behind.  Time is what both Hugo and Melies are victims of, the unfortunate progression of time moving forward leaving them to fend for themselves. However time is also what is needed to bring them together and motivate them to keep creating.  Visually, clocks are all over the film, from Hugo running the clock, to references to clocks in old Buster Keaton clips. We also have the inspector constantly checking his watch. There is no missing this image in the movie.

2.) Innovation/Curiosity: The constant need to discover. What more does a kid need to relate to our hero. It brings us back making us remember our years of persistent curiosity.  The ideas of fixing, creating, and purpose drive our characters forward in a constant search of belonging. From shots of children peering through keyholes, to watching intently as we watch the automaton work for the first time. The editing and shot choices directly instill a child like curiosity into the viewer. Not to mention the saturation of the eye colors of most of the characters, it is through the eyes that we learn, we perceive. The eyes are out gateways to new ideas, new adventures. 

3.)Movie-making/Dreaming: This is Scorsese's love poem to making films. At times the dialogue is not very coded but I forgive it do to it being a kid's film. Melies stands in his studio during a flashback and says, "If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, you look around... this is where they're made." Through out the movie films are another way to make people imagine, to make them dream. It really is quite beautiful how it is discussed. 

There are so many more recurring ideas but just to give you an idea about how dynamic this film actually  is I named a few.  Also I would be remiss for wrapping this up with out mentioning the actors, everyone provides a certain heightened character of life that makes for a good childhood dream. 

Overall: I loved it! It brought me back to being a kid discovering, fixing, looking for purpose, this film has so much to offer in keeping dreaming  alive. And in case you were wondering I did not watch it in 3D, so although there are a few times you notice it missing overall it still translates. So, Sit back, watch this movie and no matter what age you are Happy Dreaming!