HAS 57 years old, he probably created his masterpiece. With The Most Precious of GoodsMichel Hazanavicius has just added his ninth feature film to the precious list of key works of the 7th art devoted to the fate of the Jews of Europe during the long Nazi night. Adapted from a multi-award-winning tale by Jean-Claude Grumberg published in 2019, this animated film of stunning graphic beauty follows the heroic destiny of a Righteous couple in Poland during the Second World War.
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In the middle of winter, in the depths of a forest located not far from the Auschwitz extermination camp, a “poor woodcutter” finds a baby in the snow very close to a railway track. The child, a little girl, was thrown from a transport of deportees by her father, in a desperate gesture of protection. There poor lumberjack welcomes the unexpected encounter into her home. With the help of her lumberjack husband, she will hide and protect the newborn from the hatred of the neighbors nearby.
Patiently crafted over six years by Michel Hazanavicius, the film achieves the impossible challenge of merging the archetypes of the tale and their poetry with the unfathomable darkness of the tragedy of the Shoah. Never tearful and indecent, always dignified and poignant, The Most Precious of Goods celebrates the Righteous and the choice of courage, as in his time Schindler's List. A comparison which embarrasses Hazanavicius in more than one way, and yet, from its humanism to the magnificent score of Alexandre Desplat, the animated drama of the ex-author of OSS 117 shares an undeniable family resemblance with Spielberg's classic.
With the help of his team and in particular artistic director Julien Grande, the director also took advantage of his training as a designer (at the École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy, ENSAPC) to weave himself even the graphic Bible of the characters. Inspired by the works of the French painter-illustrator Henri Rivière, the engraving style of the film immerses us in a succession of shots of stunning beauty and poetry in harmony with the gravity of the narrator played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, here in his latest role.
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Michel Hazanavicius tells us several times: he first wanted to tell a beautiful story within the horror, to transmit a universal message to younger generations and above all not to sign a political pamphlet, even less to fuel controversies. But the heavy news on the anti-Semitism front since October 7, 2023 unfortunately forces the director of The Most Precious of Goods to come out of the woods, reluctantly. And also assume his concerns and questions in relation to the arsonistic remarks of a certain radical left in France.
“The Most Precious of Goods”, by Michel Hazanavicius (1h21), adapted from the story by Jean-Claude Grumberg. In theaters November 20.
