Hugo

So this movie has more than meets the eye

Yeah I went completely blind. I had like a vague idea of what it could have been. I knew it was about a kid who is associated with clocks and clock towers, and that there was an adventure around it. So what I had in mind was this steam-punk action-adventure fantasy type film finding hidden secrets and mysteries with keys and clockworks. Boy was I wrong.

I sort of don’t want to say what this movie is truly about because of how much of a twist it was for me. So I’ll just say what I can while keeping what I think of as “The Reveal” a secret.

Overview: Hugo is an orphaned boy who lives at the Paris train station working and winding the clocks. Before his father’s passing, they found a mysterious automaton broken in a museum. While trying to avoid being caught, he works hard to fixing the little machine, solving the mystery and bringing him closer to his father once again.

I like how atmospheric is feels. It is very calm and relaxing. There wasn’t any loud music, even when there were action scenes. It was very gentle, both in the soundtrack and the pacing. Like it is meandering in it’s storytelling, taking its time knowing the movie will get there when it does.

It even takes time to try and flesh out the other side characters too, regardless of actual relevance to plot. My favorite was this one guy who just wants to be near his sweetheart, but her dog keeps growling at him. He doesn’t even say anything, but you can see how dedicated he is trying to get the dog to like him. They also took time to flesh out the Stationmaster. He isn’t some heartless asshole that just likes order and hates kids. He is a WW1 vet who is awkward as hell but also self-conscious about his wounds. I at first hated that he was given a solo scene because I hated this guy, but all the characters do grow on you in some way. They may be antagonistic, but they are still people.

Ben Kinsley is an asshole. When we first met him he’s an asshole. When my sister tried to watch this movie on a plane she stopped because he was an asshole. And yes, he is a Major Asshole. But again, the movie does its thing of just slowing building the world and slowing building people to the point where he isn’t just an asshole or isn’t THE Asshole, but he is his own person with other feelings.

And the mystery element behind is very very good. Just what is the automaton, what does it do, and why does fixing it lead to more and more mysteries? It just gets deeper and deeper in solving it, with a very satisfying conclusion.

Overall: Yeah I recommend this movie. Its peaceful, graceful, poetic, and just touches on who these people are. It’s just, so fantastic in both the grand and mundane. Definitely check of out.