Hugo

La direction artistique y est époustouflante et le Paris fantasmé par le réalisateur new-yorkais, d'un irrésistible charme suranné.

Il n'est pas étonnant de constater que lorsque Martin Scorsese a enfin décidé de faire un film pour enfants, il l'a fait pour le seul enfant qui l'intéresse vraiment : lui-même.

D'en avoir fait un conte pour enfants où les citations littérales font place à des surimpressions et des trucages vétustes cohabitant avec la 3D, de voir un bambin sursauter pas trop loin de nous quand le cowboy de Porter tire sur l'écran, de prendre conscience, en voyant des gens être émus par des images d'il y a un siècle, répète et rend encore plus important le rôle de Scorsese, une mémoire de l'art dont la générosité passionnée aura rarement été si désarmante.

At 130 minutes, Hugo is too long, and the opening half-hour is carried along mostly by its technique, but its flaws are excusable: they're the faults of a filmmaker so enamoured of his subject that he wants to astonish us. Hugo is a movie for people who love movies.

Some of this adaptation of Brian Selznick's 2007 illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret remains too corny for my taste and there may be too many pratfall-heavy chases, but there are four or five absolutely brilliant sequences about the magic of early cinema, particularly that of George Méliès, which make it a must-see nonetheless.

This results in one of the most beautiful movies of the year, a cavalcade of sharp colors and blowing steam. 3D is used not to wow the audience with flying CGI dragons, but to tell the story of a few people resurrecting the dreams of the past.

That said, even if the kids don't like it, their parents will - and those of you who avoid family films like the plague ought to give it a go. It's really a worthwhile piece of work, and further evidence that Scorsese's as good as he's always been.

A fabulous and passionate love letter to the cinema and its preservation framed by the strenuous adventures of two orphans in 1930s Paris.

In addition to being an enchanting tale of plucky children, with stand-out performances from Butterfield and Moretz, Hugo makes a powerful case for film preservation.

Hugo will take your breath away. It truly is the stuff that dreams are made of.

It's serious, beautiful, wise to the absurdity of life and in the embrace of a piercing longing.