Ben Directs Silent Movies

Hugo (2011) (Asa Butterfield), is an orphan who lives in the clock tower at the Paris train station. There, he steals enough food to live, and tries to rebuild a broken automaton - a mechanical man Hugo's father (Jude Law) was working on when he died in a fire. But life takes a  turn when Hugo's pilfering is discovered by the toy-maker Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), who confiscates Hugo's notebook - his only hope of getting the mechanical man to work.

This week, we decided to view a recent film, but one that salutes the classic film era. Hugo is very much about the history of - as well as the love for - silent movies. Director Martin Scorsese was introduced to the book when he read it to his daughter - it was one of her favorite books (The  Christian Post). Best known for films like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, this was Mr. Scorsese's first film to get a PG rating since The Age of Innocence (1993). Hugo has the feel of a fairy story - it could easily start with "once upon a time..." This was also an opportunity for Mr. Scorsese to create a film that discussed one of his favorite topics - the preservation of our cinema history (TCM article). He even appears in a cameo, as a photographer.

The heart of the film is Hugo Cabret; as portrayed by Asa Butterfield, he is a lonely boy who has seen nothing but the painful side of life since the death of his father. Hugo's Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone) is a drunk; he pulls the young boy from school, to work with him to maintain the railway station clock. The one advantage is that the task gives Hugo a place to hide and the tools (and a few more skills) to repair his beloved mechanical man. Uncle Claude's disappearance means little to Hugo, except that he must be even more careful to not be detected by the Station Inspector (Sasha Baron Cohen), a bitter man who will consign Hugo to an orphan asylum should he ever be discovered.

We are not fans of Sacha Baron Cohen, but he is fine as a man who has seen service in World War I, and lost a leg as a result. The Station Inspector is a bitter man; he yearns for affection, but can give none. He's very much in love with Lisette (Emily Mortimer), the flower seller, but is unable to tell her because of his self-pity.  In many ways, the Station Inspector mirrors the resentment that affects Georges as well.   

Ben Kingsley is outstanding as the angry Georges. Forced to support himself, his wife Jeanne (Helen McCrory) and his adopted daughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) by working as a toy-maker, he has lost his life's work and his legacy because of the War. Like the Station Inspector, he too is defeated by life. Hugo's pilfering of his spare parts is just one more insult to his already deflated life view.

The relationship between Hugo and Isabelle is probably the best part of the film. She is a girl in love with books; he is boy entranced by movies. He's lost his love of books due to the death of his father; she's never seen a movie. They introduce each other to their fantasy world; as a result, they are able to make reality a better place. It's in those worlds that the audience is inaugurated into the universe of the silent film. Hugo mentions his love for the book Robin Hood and for actor Douglas Fairbanks - and it was Fairbanks who played Robin Hood in 1922.  The pair go to the movies and see Harold Lloyd's Safety Last (1923) - Hugo ends up hanging off a clock tower, much like in that film's most famous scene.  We see posters outside the movie theatre to Chaplin and Keaton coming attractions. We are introduced to the early films of the Lumière brothers, and finally, we see A Trip to the Moon - the magnificent film of Georges - and Jeanne - Méliès.

Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, this is a visually stunning film from beginning to end - even in 2-D (the film was released in 3-D) on a television set, it still a breathtaking movie.  It won five Academy Awards, for Production Design, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Cinematography, Sound Editing, and nominated for six more - for Director, Editing, Score, Screenplay, and Costume Design, and Picture. Interestingly, it lost the best picture Oscar to The Artist, a silent movie. 

The New York Times review by Manohla Dargis was glowing, as were  Roger Ebert  and The Guardian. Because of the costs of the film and the marketing, it sadly lost money on release. We highly recommend this film to lovers of classic film - it's a delight not to be missed. We'll leave you with the trailer: