The Most Precious of Cargoes () is a 2024 animated war drama film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, co-written with Jean-Claude Grumberg and based on the latter's 2019 novel of the same name. Narrated by Jean-Louis Trintignant in his last film production (and released after his death), it follows a solitary wife who finds an orphan Jewish girl during the World War II in Poland.
The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 24 May 2024, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It was theatrically released in France by StudioCanal on 20 November, and received positive reviews from French audiences. At the 50th César Awards, it received three nominations including Best Animated Feature Film.
Plot The story centers on a Holocaust-surviving Jewish girl whose father throws her from a moving train heading to Auschwitz and ultimately found by a woodcutter and his family.
Cast Jean-Louis Trintignant as the narrator Grégory Gadebois as Woodcutter Denis Podalydès as The Man with the Broken Face Dominique Blanc as The Wife
Production Hazanavicius boarded the project in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought it to a halt, allowing him to shoot the 2022 zombie-comedy film Final Cut in the interim.
Initially announced for the voice of the Woodcutter, Gérard Depardieu was removed from the cast, by mutual agreement between Depardieu and the production, after multiple accusations of rape and sexual assault were made against him. He was replaced by Grégory Gadebois.
The film features narration from Jean-Louis Trintignant in what would ultimately be his final film role, with said narration being recorded prior to his death in 2022.
Release The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 24 May 2024. It was the first animated feature to be screened in the main competition at Cannes since Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir in 2008. It was also served as the opening film for the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It was released in France on 20 November 2024 by distributor StudioCanal.
Reception
Critical response
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on 43 reviews from French critics.
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Annecy International Animation Film Festival 15 June 2024 Cristal for Best Feature Film Michel Hazanavicius Cannes Film Festival 25 May 2024 Palme d'Or César Awards 28 February 2025 Best Adaptation Michel Hazanavicius and Jean-Claude Grumberg Best Original Music Alexandre Desplat Best Animated Feature Film Florence Gastaud, Michel Hazanavicius and Patrick Sobelman Lumière Awards 20 January 2025 Best Animated Film Michel Hazanavicius Magritte Awards 22 February 2025 Best Foreign Film Valladolid International Film Festival 26 October 2024 Golden Spike Seminci Joven Award
References
External links