"My friends, I address you all tonight as you truly are; wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, magicians... Come and dream with me." - Georges Méliès
I should start by stating that this was my favorite movie of 2011, my personal pick for best picture If I had anything to say about it and I consider this film to be my third favorite film of all time for me personally. I can’t say that you will enjoy it as much as I did but this movie spoke volumes to me when I saw it in the theatre. I sat there with my jaw gaped and my mind completely lost in the magical yarn that Martin Scorsese was weaving out of Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I am a lover of film, I have a minor in it on my Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University so I know a thing or two about film as well and this movie is a love letter to film, the history of film or anyone who loves movies on a level that is more than just watching to watch but watching for the art form of great movie making and it is widely regarded that there is no film maker working today that has and uses more knowledge of film history than Scorsese and boy does it show. This movie will take you to the very roots of cinema and it is a phenomenal treat to watch. It is no coincidence that this film was nominated for 11 Oscars (more than any other film in 2011 including The Artist's 10) and once you watch the Blu-ray disc you will be able to tell why it won 5 of those Oscar's. I personally believed Martin Scorsese was robbed of a second best director statue this year, but I digress.
I don’t like to re hash the plots of movies because I like the viewer to go in with minimal information as to get into the movie more, I’m not against it either really but for Hugo its best to go in with no idea what you’re in for or some idea of what you’re in for but not much, if that is the case I believe that most people will get totally immersed in the tale being told. I will say though if you let your imagination go and kick back and take it all in, you are in for a real treat.