Hugo | Eastern North Carolina Now

   And make no mistake about this: Life for a 12 year old child, regardless of how precocious, living in the walls, and clock towers of the gigantic Gare Montparnasse train station is no sustainable existence for a child. Remarkably, Hugo's salvation was trapped in the guise of a broken down used-up artist, and that relationship began in the most auspicious manner.
Georges Méliès, Ben Kingsley, catches the orphan Hugo pinching spare parts to repair his animatron: Above. From that encounter, the former film pioneer discovers a handbook of detailed plans for the animatron: Below.
   In "Hugo," we soon discover that there is much more than the audience, or Hugo for that matter, realizes how deep their paths (Hugo and Méliès) are intertwined, and this is the story ... how that past evolves into a future, and how both parties may be saved in this hardened world just a few years after the "war to end all wars" - World War I. Interestingly, most of it plays out where so many lives are soon inextricably linked - the Gare Montparnasse train station.
Station inspector wildly wielding his bum leg as he chases Hugo and other children of dead parents: Above. Lisette, played Emily Mortimer, is part of the societal scene within the cavernous Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris: Below.
   Will the station inspector, Sacha Baron Cohen, round-up all the unclaimed children, or will he find love with the flower vendor, Lisette, played by Emily Mortimer? Will Georges Méliès find his spark to light his life's engine? Will Hugo find a real home or will he continue to steal his meals in the railway station to merely exist?

   These are all good questions, and will be answered in due time, but you must see this film to find out. While you discover these life secrets, you will also discover how well Martin Scorsese can shoot a beautiful film, with an interesting story, without terrible violence. Hugo was definitely a pleasant change of pace for the venerable filmmaker.

   Rated PG. Released on DVD February 28, 2012.