FUGITIVE PIECES

Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Cast: Stephen Dillane, Rade Sherbedgia, Rosamund Pike, Ayelet Zurer, Robbie Kay, and Ed Stoppard Runtime: 92 minutes
Country: Canada/Greece
Language: English
Rating: 14A (Sexually suggestive scenes; nudity; violence)

Reviews: www.metacritic.com/film/titles/fugitivepieces

Official Site: www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com

Anne Michaels’s debut novel, Fugitive Pieces, bold and evocative, relates a unique story about the Holocaust while meditating on universal themes of loss and hope.

Fugitive Pieces, the latest film by Jeremy Podeswa (The Five Senses), is the talented director’s first literary adaptation and a powerfully elegant rendering of the novel. This evocative, haunting story was selected as the Opening Night Gala at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. The story pivots around Jakob (Stephen Dillane, The Hours), who narrowly escapes the Nazis in Poland when he is saved by Athos (prolific Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija), and taken to Greece. No more than a boy, Jakob (played as a child by Robbie Kay in a haunting and almost impossibly beautiful performance) has witnessed the brutal murder of his entire family and the effects of his trauma are only lessened by Athos’s patience, love and nurturing. A close bond develops between the two and they remain virtually inseparable throughout their time in Greece and eventual relocation to Canada. Jakob’s past is a shadow that he carries with him into adulthood. Over time, however, he embarks  on a redemptive journey that testifies to the healing power of love.

Podeswa expertly captures the specificities of time and place, transporting the audience into a distinct and spellbinding world and creates a gorgeous space in which the grand scope of history also becomes the personal landscape of the human heart

 “A subtly rich performance by Dillane and a fine supporting cast make this Holocaust drama worth seeing, even if you don't think you can bear another one.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“Hopscotching time on film is never easy, but Canadian writer-director Jeremy Podeswa handles it with skill and care in Fugitive Pieces, his lovely, absorbing adaptation of Anne Michaels' lauded novel about a circumspect writer haunted by his traumatic past.” - Los Angeles Times

 

Summer Cinema 2008 July 7 - THE VISITOR July 28 - HONEYDRIPPER August 18 - FUGITIVE PIECES