Trailer: The Most Precious of Cargoes

Oscar-winner director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) is making his first foray into animation this year with The Most Precious of Cargoes. Based on Jean-Claude Grumberg's novel of the same name, the film is about a woodcutter and his wife who find a Jewish baby whose family throws her from an Auschwitz-bound train in an attempt to save her life. Sounds like a potential emotional heavy hitter.

The animation style here is interesting. The characters almost look like they're (appropriately) based on wood-carvings. The thick lines and somewhat clunky movements are strong choices; whether it aids or hinders the emotional impact, time will tell (from the trailer, it looks to me like it might make some of the characters' facial expressions feel a bit slow/off).

The film played at Cannes where it received mixed reviews, but with over 1500 ratings on Letterboxd, it's sitting at a 3.8, which is very solid. I imagine the Oscar race is a bit too packed this year for The Most Precious of Cargoes to get a nomination, but maybe it could be the Golden Globes' exciting animation pick, a la My Sunny Maud and Inu-Oh in years past.

That's if the film even ends up qualifying this year. It doesn't have a US release date yet (thus, this trailer's lack of subtitles), but it opens in France November 20. I imagine it'll get some sort of qualifying release before the end of the year.

Here's the trailer. Looks good to me: