Both the book and the movie begin in the same way in Fugitive Pieces. Stark, bold memories are stirred together and a little boy’s story of survival is revealed to us.

As a little boy, Jakob Beer (Robbie Kay) escapes from the Nazis by hiding in a hole in the wall while his family is murdered. He then escapes to the woods, flitting among the trees so that no Nazi will see him until at last he collapses in the mud. He is found and rescued by a kindly Greek scholar named Athos. Athos smuggles Jakob out of Poland to Greece.

In Greece, Athos raises Jakob. Athos is played with warmth and life by Rade Sherbedgia. After the war, Jakob and Atlas move to Canada. Yet, as an adult, Jakob (now played by Stephen Dillane) cannot let go of his memories, his “fugitive pieces.” He shuts himself off from his gregarious wife. He is tormented by nightmares. He spends weeks writing, remembering—not sleeping.

The book is a poetic page-turner, and the movie includes the best moments of the book. While neither is perfect (the plot rambles at times), both maintain a rhythm that is soothing in its beauty—despite a background of terrible tragedy.

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