Since I discovered The Invention of Hugo Cabret several years ago, it has remained one of my favourite books. The magnificent illustrations that make up much of the story were one of my favourite aspects of the book: it takes great talent for an author to be able to tell a complex and moving story through primarily pictures.
A few days before Christmas, I and my family saw it in our local theatre/cinema, and it was a stunning movie.
A breif summary: Set in 1930s Paris, Hugo Cabret lives between the walls of a train station, maintaining the clocks, stealing food and working on his father's most ambitious project: repairing a broken automaton. However, the automaton is missing one part — a heart–shaped key.
Hugo was shot in 3D, and although I saw it in 2D it retained depth and detail that made it extremely believable. Similarly, the history of silent film was intriguing as well as accurate as the audience was shown clips of the first film ever and excerpts from the work of Georges Méliès.
Hugo was portrayed by Asa Butterfield, who some may know as Mordred in the BBC television series Merlin, and he is to play Ender Wiggin in Ender's Game, which is set to be released in 2013.
The well-read Isabelle was played by Chloë Grace Moretz, and she perfectly brought out the innocent yet knowledgeable aspects of her character.
Rather than using surplus action to tell the story, it was character driven yet complex--just as the original book was, resulting in a wonderful movie.
I, without hesitation, give this movie five stars for the phenomenal story telling, acting, plot, and everything else.
