The Invention of Hugo Cabret Memory and the Past Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph) and (I.Part.Chapter.Image)

Quote #7

“I bought the toy booth, where I’ve been trapped ever since, listening to the sounds of shoe heels clicking against the floor… the sound of my films disappearing forever in the dust. I was haunted by those ghosts for so many years.” (2.8.17)

The toy booth keeps Méliès stuck in his past, even though he wants to move past it. He can’t help but equate those heels clicking with his lost film career, and it’s driving him crazy.

Quote #8

"Indeed, Monsieur Méliès himself was believed to be gone. But we have a most wonderful surprise for the world. Monsieur Méliès is here tonight and not all his films were destroyed.” (2.11.20)

Though Méliès was thought to be a relic of the past, he’s emerged again and is being recognized by the current folks in the film industry. He isn’t just an irrelevant fossil after all. His past means something to the future.

Quote #9

Film by film, Georges’ world was projected on screen for the first time in over a decade. (2.11.23)

When Hugo and the rest of the audience watch Georges’s films, they are absolutely amazed and transported… not back into the past, but into a world of fantasy. But they can only do this because Georges has reconnected with his past.