Hugo is an orphan boy living in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. He learned to fix clocks and other gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use keeping the train station clocks running. The only thing that he has left that connects him to his dead father is an automaton (mechanical man) that doesn't work without a special key. Hugo needs to find the key to unlock
the secret he believes it contains. On his adventures, he meets Georges Melies,
a shopkeeper, who works in the train station, and his adventure-seeking
god-daughter, Isabelle. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father
and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has
buried inside regarding his past.
The theme of this film is "reason for existence" or "purpose in life". This is mainly because of Hugo's undying passion to find out the secret message and the purpose of the automaton by constantly looking for ways to mend it. At the same time, "purpose in life" was also mentioned in one of the dialogues - when Hugo and Isabelle talked about what their existence is for.
The film's cinematography and lighting were well-blended. The angles of the scenes, especially the thrilling ones, showed unique perspectives. One example would be the scene where Hugo was hanging down on one of the big clock's hands, hiding from the station inspector. The lighting gave a cinematic effect from the beginning until the end of the film.
The set design was good because it portrayed the reality in each of the locations used in the scenes (i.e. train station, Georges' house, library, etc.). Also, the set design itself complemented the film's cinematic effect. Costumes were as good as the whole production design. In the same way, the actors and actresses' outfits showed what was the real clothings of the people in Paris.
Symbolism in the film included the clock, the heart-shaped key and lock, the ashes of Hugo's notebook, the drawing of Voyage to the Moon and the broken automaton itself. Moments when Hugo looked through the hole on the clock illustrated that he has been looking for hope across time. The heart-shaped key and lock implied that the automaton's fixed condition depended on continuous love, passion and not giving up in making it write or work. The ashes of Hugo's notebook symbolized fake action. If you burned something to be able to get rid of it, why would you keep its remains (in a handkerchief)? It only showed that Georges' scheme was just to make Hugo feel hopeless (because he really did not burn the notebook). The drawing that showed Voyage to the Moon captures the beauty of adventure. The broken automaton symbolized mystery, significance of a message and ceaseless wonder for purpose.
The general editing of the film was also very good. However, the part when the title was showed, "HUGO" only appeared for about three seconds which slightly made its exposure lacking and hanging. There was also an observation in the film's sequencing of scenes and "understandability". Although the overall story was understood, some of the scenes did not cohere well. One example would be Hugo's "double dream". This is a point of improvement unless the director's aim is to put the audience in a little puzzlement. Other scenes (i.e. the very first scene/s) were purely computer-animated. The scene where there were flying drawings from the small chest in Georges' house was totally amazing.There were unnoticeable problems with sound. The editing of audio just added to the film's mood and message.
My rating for this film is four out of five. I recommend this film to all persons, regardless of age, for them to realize the value of purpose and adventure just as how I did.
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