To the Cinema

Few books are better than the movies and only a select others truly measure up to the book.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret definitely fits within the category.

When I first heard Hugo was going to be a movie, I was a bit disappointed.  If you've seen this book, you know that its charm lies within the design.  Part written novel, part wordless picturebook, author and illustrator Brian Selznick shows you what is happening.  The book opens as the moon moves across the Paris night sky, and narrows down to the train station where we follow a boy who lives inside of the station walls.  Text is added when illustration would not be the most effective story telling or if dialogue is needed.  Really, it is one book of its time, rising a great debate of why it won the Caldecott.  Hugo is great for readers 8 and up, or any avid reader of children's books.

I won't give away the differences between the book and the movie, but there are very few.  The mystery and discovery of cinema remains a prominent theme in the movie.  The characters looked and acted the part -- especially Isabelle.

I still advocate to read the book before the movie, but this movie adaptation is well worth it -- especially in 3-d (where the special effects are not overused, but still draw you into the story of young Hugo).