Fugitive Pieces (film)

Fugitive Pieces
Fugitive Pieces Poster
Directed by	Jeremy Podeswa
Produced by	Robert Lantos Cinegram Serendipity Point Films Strada Films
Written by	Anne Michaels (novel) Jeremy Podeswa
Starring	Stephen Dillane Rade Šerbedžija Rosamund Pike Ayelet Zurer Robbie Kay Ed Stoppard Rachelle Lefèvre
Music by	Nikos Kypourgos
Cinematography	Gregory Middleton
Edited by	Wiebke von Carolsfeld
Distributed by	Maximum Film Distribution (Canada) Samuel Goldwyn Films (United States)
Release dates	29 May 2009 (2009-05-29) (UK) 6 November 2007 (2007-11-06) (US)
Running time	104 min.
Country	Canada Greece
Language	English Greek Yiddish German
Budget	$CAD9.5 million

Fugitive Pieces is a 2007 Canadian drama film directed by Jeremy Podeswa, who also adapted the film from the award-winning novel of the same name written by Anne Michaels. The film tells the story of Jakob Beer, who is orphaned in Poland during World War II and is saved by a Greek archeologist. The film premièred 6 September 2007 as the opening film of that year's Toronto Film Festival.

Cast

• Stephen Dillane as Jakob Beer
• Rade Šerbedžija as Athos
• Rosamund Pike as Alex
• Ayelet Zurer as Michaela
• Robbie Kay as Young Jakob
• Ed Stoppard as Ben
• Rachelle Lefèvre as Naomi
• Nina Dobrev as Bella
• Themis Bazaka as Mrs. Serenou
• Danae Skiadi as Allegra
• Diego Matamoros as Jozef
• Sarah Orenstein as Sara
• Larissa Laskin as Irena
• Daniel Kash as Maurice
• Devon Bostick as Teenage Ben

Production

Fugitive Pieces was in preproduction for seven years before filming started in various locations of Greece (Hydra, Kefalonia, and Lesvos) and various locations in Ontario, Canada (Hamilton and Toronto) in 2006 at a cost of $CAD9.5 million.

Matthew Davies was the production designer for the film. Peter Emmink was in charge of art direction. The costumes were designed by Anne Dixon. Set decoration was provided by Erica Milo and Nikos Triandafilopoulos. Visual effects were provided by Mr. X Inc. John Rowley was the music supervisor. Diane Pitblado was the dialect coach.

Release

Fugitive Pieces premièred on 6 September 2007 as the opening film of that year's Toronto Film Festival. It was later shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival, the Rome Film Festival, the International Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece (where it was shown under the title Syntrimmia psyhis), the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival.

It opened in limited release in the United States on 2 May 2008, grossed $102,212 in 30 theatres its opening weekend, and earned a total US gross of $634,379.

Critical reception

As of 17 May 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 68 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 41 reviews — with the consensus that the film is "a moving holocaust tale aided by solid performances. Though the retelling is a bit too subtle, the moving story and solid performances lift Fugitive Pieces beyond standard holocaust tales". Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 60 out of 100, based on 19 reviews — indicating mixed or average reviews.

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated/Won	Award/category	Festival/organization	Role
2007	Won	Best Actor	Rome Film Festival	Rade Šerbedžija as Athos
2008	Nominated	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Satellite Award	Rade Šerbedžija as Athos
2008	Won	Best Film	Sydney Film Festival	—
2008	Won	Audience Award (Narrative Feature)	Sarasota Film Festival	—
2008	Won	Jury Award	Newport Beach Film Festival	—

The film won the jury award of the Newport Beach Film Festival in the categories Best Cinematographer (Gregory Middleton), Best Director and Best Screenplay (Jeremy Podeswa) and Best Film.

External links

• Official US website
• Official UK website
• Fugitive Pieces at IMDb
• Fugitive Pieces at Rotten Tomatoes
• Fugitive Pieces at Metacritic
• Fugitive Pieces at Box Office Mojo
• Fugitive Pieces at AllMovie