After weeks of whispered speculation concerning who, if anybody, would be covering the Toronto International Film Festival for Cinema Blend, I have emerged the victor – by default! Okay so I live in Toronto and being the opportunist I am, I begged Josh to let me work the fest. You’re probably thinking I’ve been to past festivals and can whip around T.O. like a taxi driver with a quota to meet, but you’d be wrong. Even though I’m a huge movie fan, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never attended TIFF. As daunting as it seems, rest assured I’ll be doing all I can to bring you the best possible coverage of the 30 films I’m slated to see, assuming I don’t keel over in exhaustion before we reach next Saturday. Without further ado (because I know you don’t want to hear about the nightmare that was planning and picking up my ticket packages) I give you my inaugural opening night experience at TIFF ’07!
Fugitive Pieces
Fugitive Pieces initially caught my eye because I read its source novel a few years ago for an English class and vaguely remembered liking it. When I realized that it was a Canadian film, and the opening gala for the whole festival no less, I knew that I had to see it. After anxiously waiting in line for an hour and twenty minutes, the doors to the elegant Elgin Theatre finally opened and the paying public was allowed into their seats. Not long after I had nestled into my rather comfortable chair, the audience was met by the producer, director, author of the book, and principal cast of the film. Keeping in mind that I’m a festival rookie, it was quite a spectacle to see and hear from the people I was about to watch. At the very least it added some excitement and an atmosphere of importance to the overall experience.
Fugitive Pieces follows the story of Jakob (Robbie Kay) and Athos (Rade Sherbedgia), a young polish boy and a Greek archaeologist who tragically meet while the latter is in Poland supervising a dig. After fleeing his home from the invading Nazi’s, Jakob is left alone in the woods only to be found by Athos, who daringly risks his life by taking the boy back to his native Greece. Remaining there for the duration of the Nazi occupation, Athos is witness to the unbearable burden carried by Jakob, who is tormented by his father’s murder and the unknown fate of his cherished sister Bella. Following the war the pair move to Toronto in hopes of starting over, but as Jakob reaches adulthood (Stephen Dillane) it becomes evident that he will never be able to leave his family’s tragedy behind him. As the film shifts back and forth between past and present, not a moment goes by where Jakob is free of his inner demons as they interrupt his life and intrude upon his relationships.
Anne Michaels crafts her novel with a type of poetic imagery that I thought impossible to adapt for the screen, but Podeswa’s script and the film’s amazing performances manage to perfectly encapsulate the raw sadness and despair that weaves its way around the story. In a film where nothing much actually happens, I was amazed at how utterly captivated I was by one man and his feelings. Almost every scene requires an emotional investment, which means I really should not have been surprised that I felt drained walking out of the theatre. I had to work not to cry, while my festival partner (my mom) chose the alternative method – weeping silently for the majority of the film’s 104 minute running time. It really is THAT sad.
Kay and Dillane both do an incredible job of portraying the fragile Jakob, and Sherbedgia is miraculous in bringing the gentle and caring soul of Athos to life. The acting, the script, and Podeswa’s nuanced direction all played equal parts in creating the genuinely heart-breaking film that is Fugitive Pieces, and it is one that I will not soon forget. Although I head to bed slightly more melancholy than I woke up this morning, I am beyond satisfied with the first film on my TIFF schedule.
4.5/5 Stars
