I wasn’t really sure what Hugo Cabret would be like after seeing the trailers, it seemed a bit of an action/fantasy movie, but after seeing the film, I would have to say I was completely wrong.
What I can say about Hugo is that it is beautifully made, great camera work, wonderful 3D, think a sort of modern-day Citizen Kane. Hugo is really a celebration of the wonders of cinema and the films of George Melies (Ben Kingsley)
Hugo is a young boy living in a train station after the death of his father (Jude Law), living on his wits to survive and one step ahead of the train inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), until he meets the mysterious toy repairer which turns out to be Charles Melies (Ben Kingsley).
Hugo A Journey Of Fantasy
So the film follows the story of Hugo trying to finish repairing the automaton and find out the last message from his father, but the aspect of the film the idea of bringing to the audience the wonders that Charles brought to cinema and in turn is a celebration of his use of cinematic techniques that have enabled us to have the amazing special effects and cinematography that we see in our cinemas today.
For me Hugo is a wonderful celebration of Charles Melies and his film making and it’s such a shame that out of the 500 films that he made in his short career that only around 80 survived after he had a loss of faith in the industry and destroyed the original films, such a sad loss for the film archives today.
Could you imagine what he would think of the movie techniques that we have now, such 3D, 7.1 surround sound, IMAX etc. I think  he would thoroughly enjoy how cinema has evolved and would love to know that his techniques in special effects and the colouring if film has inspired many modern-day movie makers.
So if you are looking to see a film that is not only interesting, but is also a slight twist of fantasy, then you will thoughtfully enjoy the film, not really a film for kids as the boredom may set in, but if you love film and find the industry a little interesting then I would highly recommend it.
Overall rating for Hugo
A cinematic masterpiece 9/10
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
