Hugo: Scorsese does Jeunet

I don't recall seeing this advertised in cinemas, but last week I watched it on DVD. I was enchanted. There's lots of things to like from my perspective. First most of the actors are using British English. Second Scorsese seems to have decided that 1930's Paris-setting is best rendered by using the kind of palette of colour and inventory of props that Jeunet would. At points even the soundtrack evokes Amelie. Since I love both the palette and soundscape of Amelie and also the polished, steampunky clockwork and machinery (which you'll also see in productions such as Dr Who, Mic Macs (also Jeunet), the latest The Time Machine and so on). So, for me, a delicious sensory experience.

The fact that the chief protagonists are children means that there is an innocence about the main plot and yet the fact that adults are important players means that there is not a dearth of more mature interests represented. I also like the fact that, as one of my sons put it, there are no real 'baddies' in the film. By the end we have grown to understand the adults who seem to be the most obstructive, scary and unsympathetic at the start (except, perhaps, for Hugo's uncle, who actually features very little in the main plotlines). I like the way, then, that the film eschews the simple goodies and baddies plots and tells a children's story (?) with an acknowledgement that people are both 'good' and 'bad' in terms of motives and actions. I'd love it if we had more plotting like that.

Of course the take-home message could be that 'bad' is ultimately about being mistaken, under-informed or damaged. And I'd actually want to affirm that to a great extent; all too often we come at things the other way round. But sometimes we need to have room for malevolence and culpable in/action. However, this would be a minor quibble in a lovely, fantastical, film with a heart-warming set of plot lines.

It's also a must for those who love silent film, but I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen.