Eyes may be the window to the soul, but movies are the projection of our dreams, according to “Hugo” that is. Martin Scorsese’s first attempt at a children’s film might be over most of their adolescent heads, but this founding member of the “Movie Brats” might’ve just concocted a delectable cinematic treat that speaks to most film lovers’ surrealist commitment to the big screen.

“Hugo” stars Asa Butterfield as the title character, and Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle, in the new film by Martin Scorsese. (photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a Paris train station where his daily routine consists of sneaking the occasional pastry and milk bottle from Madame Emilie’s (Frances de la Tour) shop and waiting for Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) to doze off, before stealing mechanical parts from a toy shop in order to fix an inoperable automaton –– an unfinished project due to the death of his father (Jude Law). This strange robotic man becomes an obsession for Hugo –– the only proof of his father’s love. In the meantime, Hugo must avoid the antagonistic Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), who’s hellbent on sending all parentless children to the orphanage so they can learn to cope alone, just as he once did.

The automaton, the film’s most memorable visual, is but one pawn in the film’s grand purpose. By the end, we’re watching more than a story about a boy who misses his father; we’re immersed in the lost world of turn-of-the-century cinema riddled with lost treasures, like set pieces, concept art, and reels melted down and turned into high heels (that’s a new thing you can say you learned today; you’re welcome). History truly isn’t kind to the present, and “Hugo” emphasizes the importance of being mindful for the sake of the future. Again, this is all so unexpected in a PG-rated flick for kids, especially the element of historical truth in the fiction –– a truth only a film can expose, although the young might not know how to decipher it.

The construction of space in “Hugo” combines the voyeurism of “Rear Window” with the enchanting design of classic France, so magically captured in “Moulin Rouge”. But in place of pop music show tunes, we bask in a score by Howard Shore that features splendid (well, French-sounding) accordion throughout the film. While the film dabbles into Hugo’s past, his current job as unpaid clockmaster affords him the opportunity to observe, while unseen, the daily interactions of all around him. Unable to find a life of his own (at least until the automaton works), he can at least smile at the successes and misfires of those he knows, but to whom he never speaks.

I almost gave up on Scorsese, believing his best films occurred more than 20 years ago, and then he does something unexpected: he leaves behind organized crime and adapts a 2007 illustrated novel, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, by Brian Selznick. The cure for narrative predictability is simple — try something new — and Mr. “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” dons this new do quite well.

While the film includes an all-star cast, high praise belongs to four key players: Kingsley, Butterfield, Cohen and Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle. Kingsley has a peculiar acting career, with roles ranging from Gandhi and all things Shakespeare to B-movies and obscure sci-fi adventures. Considering his resume, it only makes sense to feature such an eclectic performer in an homage to French film history (I can’t say more without giving it all away). In the wake of “Harry Potter’s” bon voyage, Butterfield and Moretz are the next big thing in the child actor sphere. Moretz already proved her worth as Hit-Girl in “Kick-Ass” and vampire sweetheart Abby in “Let Me In”, and now she efficiently enunciates with an English accent (I know, that doesn’t really make sense for a film set in France) and struts with an adventure-craving attitude that would shame a poser like Belle who decided to settle down.

Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and works to finish a robotic automaton. (photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

Butterfield knows how to handle the limelight quite well. Sure, he spends much of the film crying, but what children wouldn’t continually mourn the loss of their parents — especially if they spend the day fixing clocks (with no paycheck, mind you) and sneaking around in dingy places.

The first image in “Hugo” is a large mechanical clock that dissolves into a fast-moving clip of a busy Paris street. Much like the rat at the end of “The Departed” (the entire film is about a rat in the FBI and an undercover cop), Scorsese can be a bit on the nose, yet “Hugo’s” camouflage — a children’s film no child could fully enjoy — allows him to do things for which he’d otherwise be mocked.

In retrospect, it works, and this enchanting flick is one of the best of the year.