Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning director of The Artist, makes first foray into animation with The Most Precious of Cargoes, which world premieres at the Cannes Festival May 24.
Adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is the first animated feature to vie for Palme d’Or since Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir in 2008.
It will be the last movie watched by the competition jury, presided over by Greta Gerwig, before the closing ceremony.
The Most Precious of Cargoes is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which will release the movie in France on November 20.
It’s produced by Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian at France’s Ex Nihilo, as well as Florence Gastaud and Hazanavicius at Les Compagnons de Cinéma.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are co-producing via their banner Les Films du Fleuve.
Hazanavicius discusses his personal attachment to the story, its timeless appeal and universal themes.
Michel Hazanavicius: It all started five years ago, with Jean-Claude Grumberg’s eponymous book…although you could almost say it started when I was born, as Jean-Claude was my parents’ best friend since they were 16.
Even before the book was published, Robert Guédiguian gave it to [producer] Patrick Sobelman. The latter and Studiocanal then approached me to see if I’d be interested in making it into animation movie. I hesitated a bit because it’s animation, and also because of it’s a story related to the Holocaust, which seemed so daunting. But ultimately the story is immensely beautiful, and after speaking to Jean-Claude, I knew I had to come on board.
Animation in the film looks singular
Film’s historical backdrop
MH: The story echoes very personal family experience, as I am the Jewish son of Holocaust survivors from Eastern Europe -Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania. My grandparents survived Auschwitz, but not members of their family and friends.
Growing up hearing stories about death camps
The film shows part of History, especially in today’s troubled times and rise of antisemitism
MH: I’m glad it exists. But my intention was not to make a movie about the Holocaust. It’s really the magnificence of this story that took me on adventure, which turned out to be extremely heavy in terms of production, time, investment, etc. It’s not a preachy movie, neither a film about the victims nor about the executioners.
It’s about people who saved lives. We see beautiful chain of solidarity, of love that sets in motion to save the life of little girl. You don’t cry because it’s sad, but because it’s beautiful.
Film as fable
MH: It’s a twist to the traditional tale, because it’s more poisonous than a fairy tale, but also more beautiful. I had the feeling when reading the book, that that story had always existed, like instant classic, which is the feeling I tried to recreate in the movie. But for me, the story is what I would call ‘ultra-fiction’. It does borrow codes of fairy tales, starting out with “once upon a time in a forest, there was a woodcutter, a woodcutter’s wife,” so you’re immediately thrown into a classic fairy tale. But then, as the story progresses, the film takes you to the Gare de l’Est in Paris, when you have cars, and it’s clear you’re in real life.
Playfulness between fiction and reality
MH: That’s what really interested me and why I got involved in the first place. Today, Auschwitz, for a 20-year old kid, is very far away; it’s ancient story. There is no more emotional bond to that part of history, and as the last remaining Holocaust survivors are disappearing, so soon there will be no oral testimonies of what happened. That’s why I liked the idea of making a film that would go from fiction towards reality, to tell history with a big ‘H’. As a storyteller, I love to tell stories that touch me, and reality, truth are things that I like to explore in my work.
The word Jewish is never mentioned in the film
MH: In the book, the author had to pronounce the word Jewish, because the narrator speaks in subjective way. With the film, I follow a narrative structure and therefore I had to readjust elements, give new life to the characters. But I loved the way Jewish people are called ‘The Heartless’ in the book, as it’s a fairy-tale. I did portray Jewish people wearing yellow patches in the movie, but I didn’t have to say the word “Jewish.”
The beauty of this story-and of any fairy-tale, is that it’s universal. Grumberg’s message is, “You have to love all children.” Yours as much as anybody else’s. It’s not a Jewish story, but a story that concerns the whole world, the way Rwanda concerns everyone.
“The Zone of Interest” also deals with Holocaust through unusual prism.
MH: Well it’s literally impossible to show the reality of the camps, but in my case, I had the advantage of using animation, which offers some freedom and allows you to use symbolism, to suggest, rather than show.
Financing animation film with this topic?
MH: We started before COVID, and the pandemic put the project on hold as we couldn’t fully-finance it. Distributors had to deal with backlog of titles waiting for release and couldn’t invest it in. So we put the project on hold. That small parenthesis gave me the opportunity to make Coupez (“Final Cut”) which was great.
Alexandre Desplat’s magnificent score
MH: He was on board from the very beginning. He was fully committed, and we talked a lot. He is hugely delicate, in the way he approaches music and feeds off a lot of stuff. The music plays big role in anchoring the dramatic moments, especially since there is very little dialogue.
Projects with U.S. stars attached?
MH: I did have a project with Tom Cruise and another with Will Ferrell. There were two very good comedy projects, but they fell through. Working with studios is complicated. I need full control, and can’t wait for studio bosses to approve every decision. It doesn’t work. That said, the U.S. indie sector would perhaps be better suited for the way I work. If something comes up, then why not. There are wonderful American actors, and the Hollywood mythology is absolutely fascinating. But if I have to sacrifice the way I work, then it’s not for me.
What’s next? A comedy?
MH: Not necessarily. First of all, I’m going to wait and see how this one is received. I always have the feeling of being not quite in tune with the market, a bit on the edge.
