So, Jeph and I are into the whole steam punk scene. We love anything that fits into the category of "Neo-Victorian." Naturally, we were drawn to the movie "Hugo," and happily, there was just as much substance as there was style.
Hugo is a Martin Scorsese film about a young boy living in a train station in Paris. After his father dies, an uncle who maintains the clocks at the station takes him in, but it's clear he has no desire or ability to be a caregiver. Hugo ends up left to his own devices and gets by on whatever food he can steal. The only thing that seems to drive him is continuing to repair a machine he was working on with his father before his death.
The machine is an automaton--a mechanized human figure. Hugo believes that if he is successful in repairing the machine, he will receive a final message from his father. In the effort to repair the machine, Hugo stoops to stealing toys and parts of toys from a toy shop in the station. Little does he know how close he is to the very spirit of his father.
Through the course of the film, his thieving gets him into plenty of trouble, and the owner of the toy shop takes one of his prized possessions away to punish him for stealing--a small notebook with drawings and diagrams his father had made of the automaton and how to repair him. In desperation, Hugo finds himself working for the grizzled and grumpy toy shop owner, and he is soon befriended by the man's god daughter.
As their friendship grows, Hugo and Isabelle learn the secrets of her sullen godfather, and they come to believe Hugo's purpose is to fix Papa Georges.
Purpose is something very important to Hugo, for his purpose is the only link that remains between him and his father. His purpose is the only thing that prevents him from absorbing the gravity of his situation--that he is completely alone in the world.
As I watched Hugo explaining this ideal to Isabelle, it occurred to me that like connection, as I discussed in regards to the pack and family structures in the Twilight Saga, purpose also can be our saving grace. Purpose gives our lives meaning, and when we feel our purposes slip away from us from time to time, we feel as if we are losing ourselves, or losing our connection to things we hold dear.
It's not always about being the leader. It's not about having a title. It's not even about having a job. It's about fitting into a keyhole--unlocking the door to who we are. It's about the pieces of our lives fitting together like Hugo's automaton. It's about being a working piece within our own lives.
Another gem within "Hugo" is its exploration of something Scorsese and anyone who has a love for the movies should care about--the early days of film, and the way they are a doorway to our dreams. Images of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in the early days of the movies are heartwarming to see through Scorsese's lens. I am sure I don't love them as much as he does, but I do love them.
Jeph and I saw a review of "Hugo" this morning, basically describing it
as disappointing and not being as magical as it should be. But how can
you define magic?
The imagery of "Hugo" alone makes it cinematic eye candy--one of my favorite film genres! But it's the passionate purpose of a little boy trying to hold onto any shred of his father that he can, that is truly the heart of the movie. It's the reminder that we are all trying to live our purpose in whatever it is we do, and without it, our lives are broken.
If you're thinking about seeing "Hugo," you should go. It's more than just magical enough.
A Kind of Magic--Queen
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