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The Most Precious of Cargoes (film)

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The Most Precious of Cargoes
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Plus Précieuse des marchandises
Directed byMichel Hazanavicius
Screenplay byMichel Hazanavicius
Jean-Claude Grumberg
Based onThe Most Precious of Cargoes
by Jean-Claude Grumberg
Produced by
  • Patrick Sobelman
  • Florence Gastaud
  • Michel Hazanavicius
Starring
Narrated byJean-Louis Trintignant
Edited by
  • Michel Hazanavicius
  • Laurent Pelé
  • Arnau Segarra
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
Distributed byStudioCanal
Release dates
  • 24 May 2024 (2024-05-24) (Cannes)
  • 20 November 2024 (2024-11-20) (France)
Running time
81 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Belgium
LanguageFrench

The Most Precious of Cargoes (French: La Plus Précieuse des marchandises) is a 2024 French animated drama film, directed by Michel Hazanavicius and with a screenplay by Jean-Claude Grumberg and Hazanavicius.[1] The film is an adaptation of Grumberg's 2019 novel of the same name.

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on 24 May 2024.[2]

Plot

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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

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Production

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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.[3]

Initially announced for the voice of the Woodcutter, Gérard Depardieu was finally removed from the cast, by mutual agreement between the production and the actor, following the actor's accusations of rape and sexual assault.[4] 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.[5][6]

Release

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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.[7] It was the first animated feature to be screened in the main competition at Cannes since Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir in 2008.[8] It was also served as the opening film for the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[9] It was released in France on 20 November 2024 by distributor StudioCanal.[10]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[11] 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.[12] On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on 42 reviews from French critics.[13]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 15 June 2024 Cristal for Best Feature Film Michel Hazanavicius Nominated [14]
Cannes Film Festival 25 May 2024 Palme d'Or Nominated [15]
Valladolid International Film Festival 26 October 2024 Golden Spike Nominated [16]
Seminci Joven Award Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (22 April 2024). "Cannes Film Festival Adds Michel Hazanavicius, Mohammad Rasoulof Movies to Competition Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Michel Hazanavicius' 'Precious Cargoes' Added to Cannes Competition — First Animated Film to Compete for Palme d'Or Since 2008". World of Reel. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  3. ^ Pedersen, Lise (18 June 2022). "'The Artist' Director Michel Hazanavicius Unveils Debut Animation Film in Annecy". Variety. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Accusé de viols et d'agressions sexuelles, Depardieu ne sera pas à l'affiche du prochain film d'Hazanavicius - L'Humanité". L'Humanité (in French). 2 October 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Jean-Louis Trintignant, French Star With a Gift for Introspection, Dies at 91". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  6. ^ "'The Artist' Director Michel Hazanavicius Unveils Debut Animation Film in Annecy". Variety. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  7. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  8. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (19 May 2024). "Michel Hazanavicius on His Cannes Competition Film 'The Most Precious of Cargoes': 'It's About People Who Saved Lives' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  9. ^ Roxborough, Scott (25 April 2024). "Michel Hazanavicius' Animated Holocaust Tale 'The Most Precious of Cargoes' to Open Annecy Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  10. ^ Weichert, David (30 January 2024). "Studiocanal étoffe son line-up". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  11. ^ "The Most Precious of Cargoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 29 September 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  12. ^ "The Most Precious of Cargoes". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film La Plus Précieuse Des Marchandises" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  14. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (25 April 2024). "Sarah Snook Picture 'Memoir Of A Snail', Terry Gilliam Set For Annecy With 'Transformers One', 'Despicable Me 4′,'Inside Out 2' & 'Moana 2' – Full Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  15. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (22 April 2024). "Oliver Stone, Lou Ye, Michel Hazanavicius Films & 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' Among New Titles Added To Cannes 2024 Official Selection". Deadline. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  16. ^ Santisteban, Olaia (11 September 2024). "Valladolid se prepara para una edición "icónica" de la Seminci con novedades y Alemania como país invitado". Castilla y León – via El Español.
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