Melbourne International Film Festival Review - The Most Precious of Cargoes

 

“The Heartless have hearts.”

Tender, affecting and artful, The Most Precious of Cargoes is a frosted forested folktale set amidst the backdrop of the horrors of the Holocaust that oscillates between hopeful and harrowing as the best and worst of humanity are sketched in stunning and tragic animated frames. 

Discussion Points:

This is Oscar-winning director of The Artist (2011) Michel Hazanavicius debut animated film and was the first animated film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in competition since 2008’s Waltz With Bashir. And it’s a haunting animated folktale set during one of the most harrowing moments of recent human history. Beautifully animated, the film tells the story of a young girl, thrown by her father from a train bound for Auschwitz and raised in the woods by the wife of woodcutter. It’s a film that mixes tragedy, heartache and hope. For every trauma, there is a balm. The film juggles numerous tones, oscillating from tragic and horrific to light and playful - it’s a tender reminder that even within the darkest parts of history, there has been light in the best of humanity. Alexandre Desplat delivers an emotionally stirring score, that sometimes feels overpowering and saccharine, but that does help to punctuate the films shifting emotional tones. A film that is certain to affect with its emotion, tragedy and hope - a truly touching animated artwork.