Hugo

Not too long ago, I was given a copy of Brian Selznick's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret for Christmas. This coincided brilliantly with the release (and my subsequent viewing) of the movie "Hugo," based on this Caldecott Medal-winning book.



For those of you not familiar with the book that this movie is based on, please do yourselves a favor and track down a copy today. At 533 pages long, the books is certainly thick and heavy and may seem intimidating at first. But when you open up the book, you will quickly discover that more than half of the pages feature stunning pencil illustrations! Despite its heft, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a fairly quick read that will keep readers turning the pages.

Hugo is a young boy living in the walls of a Paris train station in 1931. An orphan, his survival relies on his ability to remain hidden and keep the station's clocks in order. But soon Hugo crosses paths with an old toy seller and his secrets are slowly revealed. What follows is a fascinating mystery connecting Hugo's dead father, a mechanical man, a key, and silent movies.

Brian Selznick's acclaimed book is a fascinating piece of storytelling. The way that words and pictures are combined to create a sort of movie in book form is absolutely inspired. I was a tad anxious about the movie version as I feared that some of the magic would be lost on the big screen. Fortunately, in the end the movie did not disappoint.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, "Hugo" manages to capture all of the brilliance of the book. The cinematography is very well done and helps to set the tone and feel of the movie in the same way that the pictures did for the book. It is also worth noting that very little in the movie seemed to be obviously computer generated. This tone of realism is necessary for a film set in this time period and is especially important given its focus on early silent films - early filmmakers didn't have access to computer graphics, so it is fitting that "Hugo" uses such graphics very little and integrates what they do use seamlessly.

The film generally stays very true to the book in terms of story, the greatest notable change being the development of the station inspector's character. Hugo's interest in magic is also greatly glossed over, allowing the movie to focus more on his relationship to his father. Even with these alterations, the story is still completely absorbing and the setting atmospheric. I highly recommend the film to all fans of the book, as well as to anyone who is a fan of movies.

Overall Grade (Book): A+
Overall Quality of the Film: A
Overall Faithfullness to the Book: A-

*disclaimer* I saw this movie in 2D, not 3D. I debate if 3D would detract from the old-fashioned, magical tone of the film. Then again, what do I know?