18/44
In war-torn times, a poor woodcutter and his wife live in a large forest. One day, the woman finds and rescues a little girl, bringing an irrevocable change to the lives of the couple and those whose paths the child will cross.. This is Michel Hazanavicius's first animated film.. World War II is one of the darkest periods in humanity. A time when humanity had just sworn off the gray war, when the world witnessed the extent of human cruelty. A time when what was promised was rebirth, redemption and peace. The hand of faith had just struck Europe in its most usual terrible way, the huge debt of a great war and a lost generation rising above it. The world stood still, not because of Schick, or at least not only because of that, but because of what lies beneath. In the face of the world’s greatest tragedy up to that point, a future was increasingly bleak. Germany was in ruins, having just lost a war, the faith in its people, and the power of its empire. Revenge for humiliation was sworn. A few years after that remarkably dark period, there was a humble, elderly German woodworker couple. The man goes to cut down large trees, and the woman ties small branches. Both spend a hard day’s work to arrive at a small house in the middle of the forest where beaten soup and a tired old dog await them. Never had a child in which the woman begs for everything, leaving God or never being aware of him. She implores the sky, the wood, and even the train gods for a train. And one day, the train gods answer her prayers. In that empty corner of the forest, a train has cut through the white winter snow, slowly but surely reaching its dreaded destination. And one day a baby is thrown from the train only for the old wooden woman to pick him up. A heartless thing for some, but not for her. What follows is a beautifully crafted tragedy, a story about humanity: the loving force within it that builds and sacrifices itself, and the inherently evil side that takes revenge and retaliates. The Michel Hazanavicius animated film lends a very comedic style that places you in the heart of an enchanted forest, along with its quirky cast of characters and grim WWII setting, it is one of the best-looking tearjerkers in years. jerks. A beautiful farewell to Jean Louis Trintignant’s illustrious career.