With 11 nominations, "Hugo" can't be doubted as well-made. Compared with the slick tone of "The Artist" and "Midnight in Paris", "Hugo" has the childlike innocence of the Paradise Cinema. Hugo's big blue eyes hide the endless sadness that only movies can cure. His face appears on the back of the clock multiple times, with the hour and minute hands swiping across his face, as if a movie was able to regain its hold on time, taking us back to the days of earlier movies.
I like the beginning of the film, the grand Paris, the old train station with nostalgia and tenderness, where different people meet, talk, and heal each other's wounds. The poetic description of the first movie viewing experience, the damage caused to people's hearts after the cloud of World War I dissipated, the attention paid to the pioneers of the film with great respect, and what Hugo wants to express is so rich and passionate. However, the film quickly turns to a retrospective of early film history. The nostalgic tribute to old filmmakers is touching, but that's where the film fails.
If you don't know anything about Lumiere and Mérieux, don't care about film history, and watch the non-3D version, you will lose more than half of the fun of watching "Hugo". But if you know Lumiere and Mérieux, and you are familiar with film history, you will think the tribute is too obvious.
If you have to take off your hat to pay tribute to an acquaintance, you have to take off your hat constantly when watching Hugo. "Hugo" is such a book bag. Because everywhere is a bridge that pays homage to the classic fragments of film history. In just one scene of a train entering the station, you can see the shadows of Lumiere, Abel Gance's "Wheels", and Renoir's "Beasts in Clothes", and those who are interested can see more. Like an award winner who is busy reading the thank you list for fear of making mistakes.
The part involving film history is trying very hard to literate the audience. From the film academy author who loves to lecture, to the serious bookstore owner, and the Merieux who Hugo always looks up to, they are just nuts on the huge movie machine, with a single face and a clear function.
More than 100 years after the birth of the film, the original trick has become the art of today. While the technology is becoming more and more mature, it has also lost the spirit of exploration at the beginning of the film's birth. Busy paying homage to many film pioneers, Martin Scorsese, who has always been dark and deep, is a little timid, and has lost a bit of courage to move forward. If I had to choose, I prefer fresh movies with immature skills but infinite vitality, rather than spliced movies that crave old times without any new ideas.
If you really love Mérieux, you should miss his courage to make new dreams.
View more about Hugo reviews
