The Most Precious of Cargoes
Release date: 2024-11-20
Votes: 176
Genres: Animation, Drama, History
Once upon a time, a poor woodcutter and his wife lived in a great forest. Cold, hunger, poverty, and a war raging all around them meant their lives were very hard. One day, the woodcutter's wife rescues a baby. A baby girl thrown from one of the many trains that constantly pass through the forest. This baby, this "most precious of cargoes", will transform the lives of the poor woodcutter's wife and her husband, as well as those whose paths the child will cross—including the man who threw her from the train. And some will try to protect her, whatever the cost. Their story will reveal the worst and the best in the hearts of men.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Initially, I thought we were in for a reversion of “Tom Thumb” as a surly woodcutter and his wife live a subsistence existence in the snowy forest where she longs for a child, but we are swiftly disabused of that theory! Their lives are only ever broken up by the disturbance of the train as it passes through, and it’s when praying to that one day that she thinks she hears a baby crying. Searching the snow, she quickly discovers an infant wrapped in a distinctive blanket and quickly takes it to their home. Her husband, though, feels the child to be an ill omen and wants nothing to do with it, so with her and the bairn confined to the cold of the woodshed, she has to try to find it some milk! That’s just the start of her travails, though, as we are gradually clued in to where this baby came from, and of the fate that awaited it’s parents that led to such a desperate act of love. What now ensues follows her struggle to keep herself and the child from an increasingly approaching war that had hitherto largely left them be, and that might ultimately dot the i’s and cross the t’s of a story that is touching, courageous and heartening. The almost constant wintery scenario adds an additional chill to a stylishly presented animation that features a sparing degree of dialogue, but some fairly effective audio effects to help create a variety of emotions as the child begins to grow and this simple, decent, family find they no longer have their problems to seek. It’s perhaps the last half hour that resonates most, as threads of the tale start to bind together revealing a degree of bleakness and inhumanity on one hand and yet the diametric opposite on the other. What wouldn’t a parent do for a child?
Movie Recommendation
Baby Invasion2024-08-31In a first person shooter game leaked to the dark web, a group of mercenaries disguised with baby faces invade mansions of the wealthy and powerful with murderous intent. However, as gamers livestream the game, the protagonists’ gang of horrific murders may or may not be happening in real life.More...
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found2024-11-22More than 60,000 of Ernest Cole’s 35mm film negatives were inexplicably discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm, Sweden. Most considered these forever lost, especially the thousands of pictures he shot in the U.S. Told through Cole’s own writings, the stories of those closest to him, and the lens of his uncompromising work, the film is a reintroduction of a pivotal Black artist to a new generation and will unravel the mystery of his missing negatives.More...
Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window2023-12-08This engaging series of childhood recollections tells of an unconventional school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. The school had old railroad cars for classrooms and was run by an extraordinary man – its founder and headmaster, Sōsaku Kobayashi – who deeply valued children's independence, and who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.More...
The Royal Exchange2017-12-27After many years of confrontation, the treasures of Spain and France are empty. In 1721, the regent of France draws up an ambitious plan to inaugurate an era of peace and prosperity that will heal the economies of both nations: his intention is to build a solid network of marriage alliances that will involve four children of very different ages who know nothing of betrayals and power games…More...
Sailing Home2024-11-13Passionate about sailing, Jean-Paul is going through a rough patch. Up to his ears in debts, he pulls away from his family. Determined to take his life back in hand, he signs up for Virtual Regatta, the online version of Vendée Globe boat race. To enhance his impression of being a “real” skipper, Jean-Paul holes up for 3 months on his boat in his garden. His voyage, unlike any other, will allow him to reconnect with his family and, even more, with himself.More...
Speak Out2024-11-20Colin, 14, enters a new school and he's freaking out: how do you get by when, like him, you're a stutterer? His meeting with Mr. Devarseau, a charismatic French teacher, will push him to face his fears and break out of his isolation. Now Colin has a group of friends and a project: to go on stage to play Cyrano in front of the whole school.More...
Marinette2023-06-07Born in 1975, Marinette Pichon was a born soccer player. Raised by a courageous mother who had to deal with an abusive husband, she overcame difficulties and developed unwavering determination. While juggling odd jobs and her sporting career, she was selected for the French national team and then spotted by a major American club. Marinette then moved to the United States with her mother, pursuing her dream of becoming the best player in the world.More...
Miss Violet2024-11-06France. End of the 19th century. Louise Violet 40, a Parisian teacher, is sent on a mission to the French countryside. But in a place where the daily life is linked to the seasons, land and crops, she must first convince parents to send their kids to school. With the help of the mayor, she is gradually accepted by the parents and their children. But soon, her past catches up with her. Despite the obstacles she faces, Miss Violet will give her heart and soul to her belief that education is the key to freedom.More...
Les Indésirables2023-12-06A local activist and a budding young mayor clash over the best path forward for their impoverished suburb.More...
Maldoror2024-09-08When two girls go missing, Paul Chartier, an impulsive young police recruit, is assigned to “Maldoror”. This secret unit has been set up to monitor a dangerous sex offender. When the operation fails, fed up with the limits of the legal system, Chartier embarks on a solitary hunt to bring down the culprits.More...
The Marching Band2024-11-27Diagnosed with leukemia, a successful orchestra conductor learns that he is adopted, and his younger brother is in a village marching band. The conductor decides to help them win a regional contest.More...
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood2022-03-24A man narrates stories of his life as a 10-year-old boy in 1969 Houston, weaving tales of nostalgia with a fantastical account of a journey to the moon.More...
The Monk and the Gun2023-10-17An American travels to Bhutan searching for a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again.More...
Three Friends2024-11-06Joan is no longer in love with Victor, but it pains her to feel she is being dishonest with him. Alice, her best friend, reassures her: She herself doesn’t feel passionate about her partner Eric and yet their relationship is smooth sailing. She has no idea he is having an affair with Rebecca, their mutual friend. When Joan finally decides to leave Victor and he disappears, the lives of the three friends and their relationships are turned upside down.More...
Lost in Starlight2025-05-30When an astronaut leaves Earth for Mars, the vast infinite space divides star-crossed lovers in this animated romance that crosses the cosmos.More...
Tyler Perry's Duplicity2025-03-19High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned private investigator – Marley’s search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal.More...
And Their Children After Them2024-12-04In eastern France, two teenage cousins have the summer of their lives when they paddle a purloined canoe to the far shore of a lake.More...
Bird2024-11-0812-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.More...
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad1949-10-05The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving's story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him.More...
The Golden Glove2019-02-21A serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s.More...
Similar Movies
Go to Hell!!
1997-04-16Based on the premise that "God" is actually an alien called G.D., who wiped out the dinosaurs and populated the Earth with apes from his own planet (who eventually evolve into us). "The Devil" is actually his son, "Little Red", who disagrees with what he is doing and pops up throughout history trying to upset G.D.'s plans.Charly
2002-09-27Sam Roberts thinks he has all the answers: the purpose of life, the meaning of love, the plan for a perfect future. Until Charly walks into his life.Dmitro Goritsvit
1962-02-26Based on the novel by Mikhail Stelmakh “A Big Family”. The second film of the trilogy (“Human Blood is Not a Water”, “Dmitro Goritsvit”, “People Don’t Know Everything”) tells about one of the first collective farms of Ukraine, the fight against the kulaks and the love of the communist Dmitro Goritsvit for Marta, the Petliurist's daughter, who guilty of the death of Dmitro's father.Dunya & Desie
2008-04-17Dunya and Desie are two 18 year old best friends from Amsterdam North. Dunya is Moroccan and Desie is Dutch. On Dunya's Birthday she is told that her marriage has been arranged with a distant cousin in Morocco. Dunya and her family will travel to Morocco to meet him. After Desie discovers that she is pregnant she joins Dunya in Morocco in a search for Desies father.Technotise: Edit and ...
2009-04-08Belgrade, 2074. Edit Stefanović, a psychology student, after failing the same university exam for the sixth time, decides to visit a dealer on the black market who installs a stolen military chip in her body that will record everything she sees to help her pass the exam. Edit also has a job at a scientific and social research company, in taking care of Abel Mustafov, an autistic math genius who discovered a formula that connects all forces in the world, but no computer was able to calculate it fully without becoming self-aware and shutting down immediately after that. After Edit sees the formula graph, the chip calculates the formula, and becomes able to "survive" thanks to its connection to Edit. It develops a parallel personality and affords her abilities greater than she ever imagined.Hakkenden
2024-10-01Takizawa Bakin, a popular Edo period author, begins to recount a story he is planning in front of his friend, the artist Katsushika Hokusai. The story is about eight warriors who, each carrying a jewel, gather together as if guided by fate and embark on a harsh journey to fight the curse of the Satomi family. Hokusai is drawn into the story that Bakin is telling, and visits Bakin on various occasions to hear the rest of the story, and a strange relationship between the two begins. The serialization becomes Bakin's life's work, with the idea of "rewarding good and punishing evil in a world where evil is rampant," but after 28 years, as the story finally approaches its climax, Bakin begins to lose his sight. With the completion of the story in doubt, he receives an unexpected proposal from his daughter-in-law. Will the story ever be completed?The Idiots
No data for this movieFyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna travel to Europe for their honeymoon and end up staying in a health resort in Switzerland, only to return to Russia after four years. Fyedya can’t shake his roulette habit and keeps losing their money. His wife accepts this fate since he keeps assuring her that it’s all for inspiration and soon he shall write his to-be masterpiece, 'The Idiot'.Battle Under Orion
2009-06-13The story of a Japanese sub's last mission during WWII.Nicholas and Alexandr...
1971-11-29Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.Save the Tiger
1973-02-14A businessman's professional struggles begin to conflict with his personal life over the course of two days.Reversal of Fortune
1990-10-19Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.My Family
1995-05-03Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930s. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the '50s. As the second generation become adults in the '60s, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.The Long, Hot Summer
1958-05-17Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.The Fringe Dwellers
1986-10-26The story of an Aboriginal family's attempts to forge a new life for themselves within the segregated society. At the urging of headstrong teenager Trilby, the Comeaways relocate from their family camp, to a house in the main town.As the Clouds Scatter...
1961-07-09A provincial bus driver plans to marry his conductress, but one night he glimpses the woman he once loved, which throws him into turmoil.A Royal Queens Christ...
2021-12-11A prince finds his way to Queens during Christmas when a local woman enlists his help with a children's Christmas show.A Godwink Christmas: ...
2021-12-11Brought together by community service, Eric and Joy find new purpose at Christmas. As they help a family rebuild their home, coincidences and a medical miracle lead them to believe in destiny.Baghban
2003-10-03After dedicating their whole life in upbringing their children, elderly couple Raj Malhotra and Pooja gets homeless. Instead of caring, their children treat them as a burden.Same Kind of Differen...
2017-10-20International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.Truth
2015-10-16As a renowned producer and close associate of Dan Rather, Mary Mapes believes she’s broken the biggest story of the 2004 election: revelations of a sitting U.S. President’s military service. But when allegations come pouring in, sources change their stories, document authenticity is questioned, and the casualties begin to mount.