Fugitive Pieces

Excellent treatment of the Anne Michaels novel, written more than ten years ago now. It’s the story of Jakob Beer, from his childhood experiences seeing his family killed by the Nazis in a Polish massacre; found by an archaeologist hiding in a bog; taken to a new life in Greece, and then to Canada. The story ranges over Jakob’s life in an disjointed episodic way, rather like the novel, which flashes back and forth in a series of short paragraphs. Is the film more upbeat than the novel? It’s a long time since I read it and I can’t really remember it. Good, thoughtful, well made film dealing with the themes of memory, understanding and the acquisition of wisdom.