Post by klep on Nov 30, 2020 9:25:18 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 11/30: Hugo
THANKSGIVING WEEK!
"Come and dream with me." - Georges Méliès, Hugo
No one loves movies like Martin Scorsese. Sure, he may not have his own festival like Roberts Redford and DeNiro, but you'll find few people who are as devoted to film preservation as Scorsese - and not just from the usual suspect countries; his World Cinema Project endeavors to preserve and promote films from every corner of the globe. Just to listen to Scorsese talk about film is to feel the purity of his love and his wonder at the medium.
So it's perhaps no surprise that when he decided to make a children's movie, he turned to Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a tale of an orphaned boy in early 1930s Paris whose life intersects with a titan of early cinema. Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives alone in Gare Montparnasse rail station, stealing food when he can and keeping the clocks in order. The only remembrances he has of his parents are his father's (Jude Law) notebook and a broken automaton they had been working together to repair.
Hugo's quest for parts brings him into the life of an elderly toy store owner (Ben Kingsley) and his goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz). Before long he learns that Isabelle's Papa Georges is none other than the legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès - who also happens to be the creator of Hugo's automaton. Isabelle and Hugo work together to show Méliès that his work is still remembered and loved, and help him to rediscover happiness in his past and in his present. And in the bargain, Hugo finds himself a new family.
Love for the movies is pervasive in Hugo. It's one of the things that connected Hugo to his father, and we get to see clips of not only Méliès' films (sometimes re-enacted with Kingsley and Helen McCrory as Méliès' wife Jeanne) and even some of Harold Lloyd's Safety Last. The latter is Isabelle's first exposure to the movies, and Scorsese makes sure we see the wonder and joy on her face as she takes it in. We also get to see a joyful montage of Méliès on set creating and exulting in the work.
At the time of Hugo's release, 3D had acquired a reputation (once again) of being a gimmick - frequently added in post-production in a process that left films looking dark and unappealing. But Scorsese manages to make it feel fresh and integral to Hugo. He works to make that third dimension matter whether it's in the opening tracking shots through Paris and the train station or the deliberate invocations of L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, giving the audience some sense of what it must have felt like to see pictures move for the first time. He is in some small way attempting to emulate the inventiveness of Méliès with this new technology, though his film would certainly serve as evidence he sees no comparison between himself and the legend.
In its broad strokes, Hugo (as well as the source novel) is broadly accurate in its depiction of Méliès' life. His studio did fail, many of his negatives were turned into shoe heels, and he fell into obscurity following World War I - ultimately working at a toy shop in Gare Montparnasse, married to his long-time mistress Jeanne and caring for his granddaughter. He was eventually found, many of his films were restored in his lifetime, and he got to witness the reclamation of his legacy from the dustbin of history. He died in the late 30s a celebrated and revered figure. It is impossible to watch this story - and see that ecstatic truth portrayed - and not come away teary and rejuvenated in your love of movies; I know it makes me cry every time. It's a film pure of emotion and pure of heart, and I can't recommend it enough.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 12/7: Only Yesterday
VACATION WEEK!
Studio Ghibli invites us to think back on our childhood with Isao Takahata's Only Yesterday, about a young woman who thinks of her childhood while on a trip to the country. Join us next week for our discussion of Only Yesterday, available on HBO Max and for digital purchase in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/1: Citizen Kane
Next week the podcast tackles the greatest film of all time in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Be sure to join us on Wednesday for our discussion! Citizen Kane is available on HBO Max and for rent in the usual places.
THANKSGIVING WEEK!
"Come and dream with me." - Georges Méliès, Hugo
No one loves movies like Martin Scorsese. Sure, he may not have his own festival like Roberts Redford and DeNiro, but you'll find few people who are as devoted to film preservation as Scorsese - and not just from the usual suspect countries; his World Cinema Project endeavors to preserve and promote films from every corner of the globe. Just to listen to Scorsese talk about film is to feel the purity of his love and his wonder at the medium.
So it's perhaps no surprise that when he decided to make a children's movie, he turned to Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a tale of an orphaned boy in early 1930s Paris whose life intersects with a titan of early cinema. Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives alone in Gare Montparnasse rail station, stealing food when he can and keeping the clocks in order. The only remembrances he has of his parents are his father's (Jude Law) notebook and a broken automaton they had been working together to repair.
Hugo's quest for parts brings him into the life of an elderly toy store owner (Ben Kingsley) and his goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz). Before long he learns that Isabelle's Papa Georges is none other than the legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès - who also happens to be the creator of Hugo's automaton. Isabelle and Hugo work together to show Méliès that his work is still remembered and loved, and help him to rediscover happiness in his past and in his present. And in the bargain, Hugo finds himself a new family.
Love for the movies is pervasive in Hugo. It's one of the things that connected Hugo to his father, and we get to see clips of not only Méliès' films (sometimes re-enacted with Kingsley and Helen McCrory as Méliès' wife Jeanne) and even some of Harold Lloyd's Safety Last. The latter is Isabelle's first exposure to the movies, and Scorsese makes sure we see the wonder and joy on her face as she takes it in. We also get to see a joyful montage of Méliès on set creating and exulting in the work.
At the time of Hugo's release, 3D had acquired a reputation (once again) of being a gimmick - frequently added in post-production in a process that left films looking dark and unappealing. But Scorsese manages to make it feel fresh and integral to Hugo. He works to make that third dimension matter whether it's in the opening tracking shots through Paris and the train station or the deliberate invocations of L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, giving the audience some sense of what it must have felt like to see pictures move for the first time. He is in some small way attempting to emulate the inventiveness of Méliès with this new technology, though his film would certainly serve as evidence he sees no comparison between himself and the legend.
In its broad strokes, Hugo (as well as the source novel) is broadly accurate in its depiction of Méliès' life. His studio did fail, many of his negatives were turned into shoe heels, and he fell into obscurity following World War I - ultimately working at a toy shop in Gare Montparnasse, married to his long-time mistress Jeanne and caring for his granddaughter. He was eventually found, many of his films were restored in his lifetime, and he got to witness the reclamation of his legacy from the dustbin of history. He died in the late 30s a celebrated and revered figure. It is impossible to watch this story - and see that ecstatic truth portrayed - and not come away teary and rejuvenated in your love of movies; I know it makes me cry every time. It's a film pure of emotion and pure of heart, and I can't recommend it enough.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 12/7: Only Yesterday
VACATION WEEK!
Studio Ghibli invites us to think back on our childhood with Isao Takahata's Only Yesterday, about a young woman who thinks of her childhood while on a trip to the country. Join us next week for our discussion of Only Yesterday, available on HBO Max and for digital purchase in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/1: Citizen Kane
Next week the podcast tackles the greatest film of all time in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Be sure to join us on Wednesday for our discussion! Citizen Kane is available on HBO Max and for rent in the usual places.