Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning director of “The Artist” whose animated film “The Most Precious Commodities” competed at Cannes this year and has been the subject of some criticism for its depiction of Auschwitz victims, has written an opinion piece denouncing rising anti-Semitism in France.
“Why do I get the impression that more and more people have a slight problem with the fact that the genocide against the Jews is being addressed?” Hazanavicius, the Jewish son of Holocaust survivors from Eastern Europe, asked in the French newspaper Le Monde.
“Why do I have the impression that as a member of a minority like any other, which has suffered its share of tragedies, I have become a member of the dominant class, a symbol of oppression, imperialism and injustice? As if being Jewish had become something truly mysterious, questionable, perhaps even hateful. How did I become so evil in such a short time?” asked Haznavicius.
The Oscar-winning director, who covered the 1999 Chechen war in his film “The Search,” said he also feels “more and more people are becoming less concerned about anti-Semitism” amid the current war in Gaza.
“And why is it that when Netanyahu is on trial I often hear ‘trial of Israel,’ or even ‘trial of the Jews,’ rather than simply ‘trial of the far right,’ no matter how Israeli they are?” Hazanavicius continued, adding that he also feels that “Jews are the most wonderful enemies to hate… much more wonderful than the Russians or the Chinese, for example.”
The director also suggested that he should not be asked for his opinion on the war in Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict every time he is interviewed, just because he is Jewish.
He also suggested that in a “normal world, the world would have expected a wave of sympathy, not violence” against Jews in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7. “Why didn’t everyone share in these moments of astonishment and grief? Should we hear ‘yes, but’ every time one Jew or 1,200 Jews are slaughtered?”
In an interview with diverse On the eve of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Hazanavicius said his grandparents had survived deportation to Auschwitz, but not their family members and friends. He said he wanted his film to be far from preachy, wanting to celebrate those who overcame prejudice and saved lives. But he was roundly criticized by some critics for a single scene depicting the horror of the death camps.
The drama by Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat revolves around the fate of a Jewish family and their newborn twins, who are deported to Auschwitz, and a poor logger couple living deep in the Polish forests. On the train to the death camp, the young father wraps one of his twins in a shawl and throws her off the train into the snow. A lone logger, who watches the trains pass in the hope of leaving behind some supplies, stumbles upon the “cargo” and discovers the little girl. She decides to take her home. Her husband, who calls Jews “heartless,” is initially reluctant to accept the idea, but he sympathizes with the little girl and eventually sacrifices everything to save her.
Hazanavicius said he was initially hesitant to take on the project because it deals with the Holocaust, which “seemed very scary to me,” but was ultimately drawn to the story, which he said was “so beautiful” and timeless.
“The Most Precious of Cargoes” will be distributed in France on November 20 by Studiocanal. It is produced by Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian at Ex Nihilo, as well as Florence Gastaud and Hazanavicius at Les Compagnons de Cinéma. It is also co-produced by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne through their company Les Films du Fleuve. The voice cast is led by renowned French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, alongside Grégory Gadibois and Dominique Blanc.
