Fugitive Pieces (2007)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Jakob Beer (Stephen Dillane) and Alex (Rosamund Pike) seem to be a happy Toronto couple but Alex finds his journal where he fears losing his identity to Alex. He is haunted by his past and they split up. His Polish family was destroyed by the Nazis and his sister Bella (Nina Dobrev) was taken by them. Jakob (Robbie Kay) was rescued by Greek archaeologist Athos Roussos (Rade Šerbedžija). In Greece, they fear the occupying Nazis and escape to Canada. In Toronto, they befriend their Jewish neighbors who escaped from Warsaw.This is a gentle telling of a horrifying tale. The adult Jakob is fine but it is the chemistry between Rade and the younger Jakob that is so touching. Rade is so powerful and the kid is so fragile. The movie does miss Rade when he's gone. However, it doesn't mean Jakob's later relationship isn't just as compelling. There is a dreamy, gentle tone throughout.

Firstly, absolutely loved the film, just felt I had to respond to the numerous comments regarding the alternative ending. Having researched it(could not find info on the original ending on IMDb -nor had I read the book) I felt that leaving us (the audience) with Jacob finding solace after such a traumatic experience, finally being able to love, fathering a child, finally being able to lay his sister to "rest" left me feeling some happiness after what was, generally, a very sad film, a better way to end than (as the original suggested) Jacob lying dead after a car accident. A moving tale, brilliantly acted & directed, and all the better for the (much needed) alternative ending.

A very moving and thoughtful film and it does so on a very personal level by examining the experience of a young boy. The film flips back and forth from his war experience to his after-war life in Canada. It deals well with the trauma brought on by war – in this case the Holocaust. This young boy lost his parents and sister to the Nazis. He is forever tormented of what became of his sister who he last saw being forcefully dragged away by the German tormentors. It does make one wonder at the brutality of a people who kill needlessly and never imagine the lifelong suffering that they cause. This is the strength of this movie. This evil is countered by the generosity of his Greek mentor who became his life-long adopted father.As mentioned the film shifts back and forth between the war years and his time in Canada. The periods when he was a young boy are the most engaging parts of the movie. There are times during the Canadian sequences where the film becomes somewhat mundane. The time spent with his first girl-friend is so superficial (the actress is simply eye-candy) that the movie almost loses course and becomes banal.Also some of the sequences when he returns to Greece are almost an advertisement for a beautiful vacation. The settings are so luxurious that they start to detract from the main message of the movie.Also at times the film becomes a little too 'wordy' – there are too many quotations from passages of a book.Nevertheless this is overall a powerful movie.

We had no idea in advance of this movie...but we were overwhelmed totally. To us, it is an Academy Award Nominee to say the least. Rarely does a picture such as this, is able to move anyone emotionally as well as creating love and inspiration about the human soul. We will not go into the contents of the film...but if you do not see it, you would be missing something in your life. It's that good. I do not understand why it has not been shown in larger movie venues. We saw this in a small theater, similar to an art film setting. Go run ..give yourself a lift in life experience and see this film. We can't wait till it's on a DVD so we can buy it and enjoy it again.