"Hugo" The Mystery of the Automaton and the Happy Finale

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2018.12.05Takayuki Oguchi

"Hugo" Synopsis

Paris, France in the 1930s. Hugo, who lost his father in a fire, hid in the station's clock tower and spent his days winding the clock's screws. Alone, Hugo's only friend is a broken mechanical doll left behind by his late father. While searching for the secret, Hugo meets Isabelle, a girl who has the Heart Key needed to repair the mechanical doll, and Georges, an old man who has given up on his past dreams. They then learn that Hugo's mechanical dolls contain secret Arrival that will change their lives and the fate of the world. Guided by a mechanical doll, Hugo's adventure to repair the world begins now.

Index

Depiction of Méliès based on historical facts

``Hugo'' was directed by Martin Scorsese, a hardcore 3D enthusiast. The film is based on Brian Selznick's fantasy graphic novel, which is based on the historical facts of film pioneer Georges Méliès.

In the film, the main character, a boy named Hugo (Asa Butterfield), wants to complete the automaton that his late clockmaker father (Jude Law) was repairing. He was secretly stealing machine parts from a small toy store near Montparnasse Station, where he lived in hiding. This toy store was run by Méliès (Ben Kingsley), who had completely withdrawn from the movie business, with the money he made by selling all his films.

This portrayal of Méliès's downfall is based on historical fact, and the toy store set in which he appears is very faithful to the actual store. Anyone interested in film history or special effects (*1) is probably familiar with Méliès's name and film works.

*1 Visual Effects Society, an international organization of people involved in visual effects: VESThe symbol mark of Méliès is `` moon world trip'(1902)'s 'Moon Man' is used.

The relationship between Méliès and the automaton

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