This movie is an adaptation of the celebrated novel (with the same title) by Canadian author Anne Michaels. I've read parts of this extremely poetic book and going into the movie I wondered how a film would do such a book justice, but this one truly has.
Fugitive Pieces is the story of Jakob, a young Jewish boy who miraculously escapes death as child in Poland during WW2. Jakob hides in the wall of his home while Nazi soldiers ransack his house and kill his family. Later Jakob is saved while hiding in the woods by a kind man named Athos who risks his life to get Jakob out of Poland. Athos raises Jakob as his own son in Greece and later in Toronto. Jakob grows up to become a good man who never forgets his past and struggles to truly grab onto the present.
This is a well told story and a wonderfully shot film. The adaptation from novel to screenplay has to have been challenging but is done very well by writer/director Jeremy Podeswa. Podeswa is best known for his work directing the acclaimed TV series' Carnivàle and Six Feet Under and he makes an affective transition to the big screen in Fugitive Pieces.
This is a moving film with great character development and very good acting performances from each of the several main characters. Unfortunately for you I saw Fugitive Pieces at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the rest of the world will have to wait until March 2008 to see it, but see it you must.
I put Fugitive Pieces on my 'Watch It' list and give it a value of $9.
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