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My heart is like an apple tree Whose boughs are bent with thick-set... All right, all right. I know the rest. That's enough poetry for today. I love poetry, particularly that poem by Chris... tina. - Rossetti. - She's... yeah. She's one of my favorites. I know it's Rossetti. I know it's Rossetti. I love poetry, just... not in the station. We're here to either get on trains or get off them. Or work in different shops, is that clear? - Yes, sir. - Watch your step. Go on, go. Doltish? Now, since I just saved your life, how about letting me see your covert lair? - My what? - Where you live, in the walls. I have to go now. I have things to do. Hold on! You've seen my house. Isn't it about time that I saw yours? After all, I am your only friend. You're not my only friend. Being enigmatic really doesn't suit you. - What are you up to? - I've got to go. I should never have left the station to begin with. Hugo! - Where did you get this? - None of your business. - I need it. - What for? I just need it. Not unless... Not unless you tell me why. Come. This is marvelous. I feel just like Jean Valjean. Oh, this is superlative. What is that? It's an automaton. My father was fixing it... before he died. Why would my key fit into your father's machine? He looks sad. I think he's just waiting. For what? To work again. To do what he's supposed to do. What happens when you wind him up? I don't know. What's the matter? I know it's silly... but I think it's going to be a message from my father. What an idiot, to think I could fix it. - Hugo... - It's broken! It'll always be broken! - Look... Hugo, look, it doesn't have to be like this. - You can fix it. - You don't... You don't understand. I thought... if I could fix it, I wouldn't be so alone. Hugo! Hugo, look! Look, it's not done. It's not done! It's not writing... it's drawing. That's the movie my father saw. Georges Mlis? That's Papa Georges' name. Why would your father's machine sign Papa Georges' name? I don't know. Thank you. It was a message from my father. And now we have to figure it out. Come on. - Come on. - Isabelle? Mama Jeanne, we... We have to talk to you. This is Hugo Cabret. Good evening, ma'am. Very good manners... for a thief. I'm not a thief. What's going on, Isabelle? Oh, well, it's a terribly long story filled with circumlocutions, but do you remember several weeks ago when... Wait! Mama? Oh, children. What have you done? Where did you get this? You'll call me a liar. No, Child. A mechanical man drew it. Do you have him? My father found him in a museum. Nobody wanted him. We fixed it. No, but it needed my... my key. - The key I gave you. - No, no, Mama, he... No. No, you take this away. Can't dredge up the past now. Whatever happens, you don't let Papa Georges see it. - Please tell us what's going on. - Out! None of your business. You must both forget this. My father and I, we worked hard to fix this. This is all I have left of him. I need to know what this means. Please. There are things you're too young to understand. You should not yet know such sadness. - It's Papa Georges. - He can't know you're here. Quiet! Now just keep quiet. I'll find a way to get him out of the apartment. Not a noise from either of you. She looked at the armoire. I already searched it when I was looking for your notebook. I'll look again. You stand guard. Splendid. - Where's Fizzie? - You just missed her. Not on the stairs? Didn't you see her when you were going past? - No. - No? Well, um... Look. We have to investigate. Let me. I'm taller. - Knock on it. - OK. Back from the dead. Stop. Stop, Georges. - Stop it! This is your work! - My work?! What am I? Nothing but a penniless merchant! A broken windup toy. I trusted you. This is how you thank me. You're cruel. Cruel. I should get back. OK. Thank you... for the movie today. It... It was a gift. Sorry, I... You know this volume? My father and I used to read it together. Hmm. It is intended for... my godson. But now I think it is intended... for you, Monsieur Cabret. Might I have another cup? Still brewing. Soon. Demitasse, like everything else, must happen at the opportune moment. If we only knew when that moment was. Oh, Gustave, be intrepid. Say hello to her. Come on, give me your best smile. Your best smile. It's beautiful. Radiant! Thank you. - Oh. - Mademoiselle Lisette. A very gracious good evening to you. - Monsieur Inspector. - Hmm, yes. Hmm, yes. Those are lovely posies, those. Thank you. Yes, they're from Gourdon. They come in on the overnight train, so they're very fresh. Ah, Gourdon. Splendid country, that. Robust. The weather... the cows and such mooing. Perfectly formed udders. Yeah. Are they... Are they smelly? Are they smelly flowers? Oh, um... yes, a little. They're... Please. You see, I was injured in the war, and it will never heal. Good evening, mademoiselle. I lost my brother. Where? Verdun. Good evening, Monsieur Inspector. Very good evening, Mademoiselle Lisette. The Film Academy library. Excuse me? The Film Academy library. You'll find all you need to know about movies there. Second level, fourth row, section three... and, yes, top shelf. The Invention of Dreams... by Ren Tabard... The Story of the First Movies. "In 1895, one of the very first films ever shown" was called A Train Arrives in the Station, "which had nothing more than a train coming into the station." "" When the train came speeding toward the screen, the audience screamed, because they thought they - "were in danger of being run over." "No one had ever seen anything like it before." "No one had ever seen anything like it before." "" What began as a sideshow novelty soon grew into something more when the first filmmakers discovered "they could use the new medium to tell stories. " Wow. "The filmmaker Georges Mlis..." was one of the first to realize that... films had the power... "...to capture dreams." "The great pioneer of early filmmaking died during..." "...the Great War." Died? - During the Great War? - You're interested in Mlis? Uh... yes. It's allowed. IS it? He's my godfather, you see. And very much alive, thank you very much. But that's not possible. I assure you, sir... it's true. Why should I believe you? Because... Because it's true. Mlis alive? Shh! Come with me. Your godfather is a passion of mine. He was a great filmmaker. Here he is at work in his studio. And this is a handbill from his stage act. Here is the great crystal mystery clock made by his mentor, Robert-Houdin. And this... is one of his actual cameras. - He was a magician? - Yes. He began on the stage. How did he start making movies? No one really knows. Look how happy he is. Professor Tabard, would you perhaps... like to meet him? Oh... but you see, I have met him. My brother worked as a carpenter building sets for Mlis. One day he took me to visit the studio. It was like... something out of a dream. The whole building was made of glass. In reality, this was to let in all the sunlight necessary for filming, but to my eyes, it was nothing short of... an enchanted castle. A palace made of glass. We need more light! - Get the louvers opened. - Open the louver, please! More! Clear the set, please! Everybody except actors. Actors only on the set, please. Clear the set! Why we doing this again? There was a lobster in front of a mermaid. OK, if that happens again, shout "blocked." If it's clear, give me a "clear." If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from... you look around. This is where they're made. Ladies and gentlemen, the sun will set! Knights in position, lobsters in position. Mermaids in position. Action! In the end, he made over 500 movies. He was phenomenally popular in his day. But... why did he stop? Up until today, I believed that he died in the war... like so many others. Could we watch some of his movies? I wish you could. But time hasn't been kind to old movies. This is the only one that we know of that survived. Out of hundreds, one. And Still... it is a masterpiece. We've got to get Tabard to show Papa Georges the film. Then he'll see he's not forgotten. Shouldn't I tell Mama Jeanne? No. I think it should be a surprise, like a magic trick. We need to have some... panache. Panache. Well done! Monsieur Claude? Shh. Are you up there? Monsieur Claude, was that you? Keep a grip onto your spanners, you cack-handed oaf! You can hold onto a bottle well enough, can't you? Are you inebriated? Chateauxed, are we? Shicker? Are you drunk? He's passed out. He's passed out, isn't he? You bloated buffoon! Could've hurt a child. What have we here? Jules Verne. Yes, indeed. - Not unknown in France. - One of our finest. Very good plates. Monsieur Labisse gave me a book the other night. He's always doing that, sending books to a good home. That's what he calls it. He's got real... Purpose. What do you mean? Everything has a purpose, even machines. Clocks tell the time and trains take you places. They do what they're meant to do. Like Monsieur Labisse. Maybe that's why broken machines make me so sad. They can't do what they're meant to do. Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose, it's like you're broken. Like Papa Georges. Maybe we can fix him. Is that your purpose, fixing things? I don't know. It's what my father did. I wonder what my purpose is. I don't know. Maybe if I had known my parents... I would know. Come with me. Right after my father died, I would come up here a lot. I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too. Get back. I'll bring Tabard tomorrow night at 7:00. Don't say anything. Are you sure about this? Not really. But I think it's the only way to... To fix him. Hello. How was your day'? Boy on the track! There's a boy on the track! Get out of the way! There's a boy! - Turn it off! Get out of the way! Move! Come on! - Out! Ahh! Look out! Morning. Yes, he's employed here. Large, uncouth man. In the Seine? Deceased? Are you sure? No, he has no... no relatives. Thank you, I'll... I will gather his belongings. Thank you so much. If he is deceased... then who has been winding the clocks? Good evening. - This way, sir. I'll get it. Well, what a surprise. Come in, come in. Isabelle, what's the meaning of this? Please don't be mad, Mama. That young man is not welcome here. We found out who Papa Georges is. I... I deeply apologize, madame. I thought you were expecting us. I will leave immediately and return upon your request. Please keep your voices down. My husband's sleeping. He hasn't been well since... No, Mama. Mama, please don't make them leave. I-I don't wish to impose on you, Madame Mlis, but if this is to be the only time we meet, please, let me express to you the profound debt of gratitude I owe your husband. When I was a boy, I saw all his films. They inspired me. Your husband is a very great artist. Oh, I am so pleased you remember my husband's films with such fondness. But... he's so fragile now. It only hurts him to remember the past. Then we will take our leave, madame. And I do hope you'll forgive me for saying... you are as lovely now as you were in the movies. Mama? - You were in the movies? She appeared in almost all his films. - You were an actress? - Well, I... Was a long time ago, children. It was... It was another time. I, uh... I... Well, I was another person. Would you like to meet her again? We have a film. One of Georges' films? That's not possible. They're all gone. May we show you? Please. - Oh, yes, please, Mama. Please. Just be quick with it. You were an actress, a real cinema actress! - It's impossibly romantic, Mama. - It wasn't like that. We weren't movie stars like they have today. But we did have fun. Madame Mlis? It's in color! But of course. We tinted the film. We painted it by hand, frame by frame. Mama, it's you! Yes. Oh, beautiful. You were beautiful. She still is. I would recognize the sound of a movie projector anywhere. Georges... you've tried to forget the past for so long. It's brought you nothing but unhappiness, hmm'? Maybe it's time to try and remember. You want to know? Yes. Just like you... I loved to fix things. I started out as a magician. Mama Jeanne was my assistant. We were very successful, I must say. We even had our own theater. But I was always tinkering with machines. I had my own workshop at the theater, where I could invent new illusions. Once, I even built a working automaton. Oh, he... was a particular treasure. I put my heart and soul into him Then, one night, Mama Jeanne and I went to visit a traveling circus. We were walking past the sideshow tents when I noticed something. Something strange. Something wonderful. It will terrify you! Sir, madame, inside we have moving pictures! Come and see! The Lumire brothers had invented the movies. I fell in love with their invention. How could I not be part of it? It was like... It was like a new kind of magic. I asked the Lumire brothers to sell me a camera, but they refused. You see, they were convinced that movies were only a passing fad and they saw no future in it, or so they said. In the end, I built my own camera using leftover pieces from the automaton. I just had to be a part of this new wonder. We risked everything. And we sold the theater and everything we had so we could build our own movie studio. Excellent. Cameras, are we clear? And so the great adventure began. Actors only on the set, please! Clear the set! Look at you, look at you! Love this shape, Mel. It's a toile, though, right? I wrote, designed, directed, and acted in hundreds of movies. I'm ready. Oh, that was good, that was good, yes, yes. That felt good, that felt good. On the pulley? On the smoke? Stop, stop, stop. I saw that. Give me two minutes. It was good up to there. Benny'? I'm gonna have a word. Reload. Reset the dragon. Benny, speak to me. If you pull down a little harder on the left-hand rope, the head will come up higher, which will be better... - Under the belly! - I see it. Excellent, excellent, excellent. The choreography was really good up to there. Thank you, gentlemen. - First positions! - Back, first positions! Action! Excellent, excellent. Setting back. And in for the kill, knights. In for the kill! Come on, then, attack! Stabbing, stabbing, and lunge! Good. Good, good. Good, knights. Poised for the attack. And... knights! Three, two, one, freeze! Skeletons, that's great. You can go. Pyrotechnics in, please. Knights, please don't move. Freeze. Freeze, everybody. Wait for my "action." Three, two, one, action! Magic tricks and illusion became my spaciality. The world of imagination. My beautiful wife was my muse, my star. And we couldn't have been happier. Action! We thought it would never end. How could it? But then the war came. - And youth and hope were at an end. The world had no time for magic tricks and movie shows. The returning soldiers, having seen so much of reality, were bored by my films. Tastes had changed, but I had not changed with them. No one wanted my movies any more. Eventually I... I couldn't pay the actors... or keep the business running, and... and so my enchanted castle fell to ruin. Everything was lost. One night, in bitter despair, I... I burned all my old sets and costumes. I was forced to sell my movies to a company that melted them down into chemicals. These chemicals were used to make shoe heels. With the little money I had from selling my films, I bought the toy booth... and there I have remained. The only thing I couldn't bring myself to destroy was my beloved automaton. So I gave him to a museum, hoping he would find a home. But they never put him on display. And then the museum burned. It's all gone now. Everything I ever made. Nothing but ashes and fading strips of celluloid. My life has taught me one lesson, Hugo, and not the one I thought it would. Happy endings only happen in the movies. I'll be right back. Stop that! No, no! Don't you frighten Monsieur Frick. Schatzi, what's he got? What has he got? Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness me. Did you see that? Be brave. My brave soldier. Oh! Monsieur Frick, I am undone! - Good evening. - Ah, hello. There has been a disquieting development. - What is it? - You know Monsieur Claude? - Mm-hmm. - He's been found deceased. - No. - Monsieur Claude! Consequently, he will no longer be employed here winding the clocks. You've got a little friend. Look! - Oh, hello. - Hello. - Monsieur Claude is dead. What? Why'? What happened to him? They found his corpse in the Seine. It's been down there for many months, it seems. Can't say I'm surprised. He was an inebriant of the highest order. - Well, yes, he was a drunk. - Shoo. - Oh, I wouldn't say that. - Yes, he was a drunk! Scram! Shoo! He could've drunk the entire River Seine. - Please, go away! Go! Shh. - Hold it! - Let me go! Let me go! - Did you think you'd escape me? - Gustave, have a heart! - Please, help me! Please. - No. He's been undermining this station for too long. Come on! - What's the boy done? - Let me go! - You happy now, boy?! - Don't do this! Do not leave my office. You don't understand, I've got to go. You'll go nowhere until your parents are found. I don't have any! Then it's straight to the orphanage with you. You'll learn a thing or two there. I certainly did. How to follow orders. How to keep to yourself. How to survive without a family. Because you don't need one. You don't need a family. Police headquarters, Yes, it's me again. Another orphan. Has been a busy week. Oh, trespass, theft, pilfering, littering, pillorying, walking about, playing. It's irrelevant. Please come and pick him up. Anyway, how are you? Oh, she came back? Oh, you think it's yours? Excellent. Well, I suppose you'll find out in seven months. Pardon me. Oh, in March? I'll try to come. I... I tend not to plan that far ahead. Are you sure? Well, oh, that's very flattering. I don't know really whether it's appropriate for me to be the godfa... Oh! Sir, hold on! Maximilian! Move! Move aside! Get out of the way! Maximilian, find him! You can't escape me! There's nowhere to hide up there, boy! Maximilian, he's gone the other way. Come on! You! Get out of my way! Got you! - Oof! No! Oh! There's a boy! Turn it off! There's a boy on the track! Get out of the way! Move back! Move aside! Move back! What were you thinking? Are you injured? - Come on! Stand aside. Careful. We'll let the orphanage deal with you. - No, I don't belong there! - Where do you belong? A child has to belong to somewhere. Listen to me, please! Please, listen to me! You don't understand. You have to let me go. I don't understand why my father died. Why I'm alone. This is my only chance... to work. You should understand! I do! I do. Monsieur... this child belongs to me. I'm sorry. He's broken. No, he's not. He worked perfectly. Honored guests, I am proud to welcome you to this gala celebrating the life and work of Georges Mlis! For years, most of his films were thought to be lost. Indeed, Monsieur Mlis believed so himself. But we began a search. We looked through vaults, through private collections, barns and catacombs. Our work was rewarded with old negatives, boxes of prints, and trunks full of decaying film, which we were able to save. We now have over 80 films by Georges Mlis. And tonight, their creator, and the newest member of the Film Academy faculty, is here to share them with you. Bravo! Bravo! Ladies and gentlemen... I... I am standing before you tonight... because of one very brave young man... who saw a broken machine... and against all odds, he fixed it. It was the kindest magic trick... that ever I've seen. And now, my friends, I address you all tonight as you truly are: Wizards, mermaids... travelers, adventurers... magicians. Come and dream with me. Yes, you can start with the thaumatrope, the zoetrope, the praxinoscope. Any study of the history of film must begin with the... Poppy'? The cave pictographs at... - Niaux. - Niaux. About canine socialization. Not canine romance? Oh, Monsieur Frick, do I detect a pearl in your oyster? The boy designed it. It does not squeak at all. Don't forget to smile, darling. Well, which one? I've mastered three of them. Don't worry. I'm now a fully functioning man. Aren't I, dear? Tap the deck. And it's up, it's up, it's up... It's there! - Is this your card? - That is my card. Once upon a time, I met a boy named Hugo Cabret. He lived in a train station. "Why did he live in a train station?" you might well ask. That's really what this book is going to be about. It's about how this singular young man searched so hard to find a secret message from his father... and how that message lit his way. All the way home.
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