Cinematical

Fugitive Pieces, the prize-winning first novel from poet Anne Michaels, is finally making its long-awaited transition to the big screen. The book tells the story of two men from different generations whose lives have been profoundly affected by the Holocaust: one witnessed the slaughter of his family, while the other is the child of survivors. According to a review at Amazon, "the novel is a meditation on the power of language to free our souls and allow us to find our own destinies." Uh, wow. How that's going to work, exactly? One hopes it isn't completely sacrificed in favor of a plot-point-A-to-plot-point-B screenplay.

The movie is being by Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa (of late a prolific helmer of American cable series, including Six Feet Under, Carnivàle, and The L Word), whose cast so far consists of Rosamund Pike, Stephen Dillane, and Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija; according to Screen Daily, there are two major roles left to cast, so the start of production is still a ways off.

The film, with a budget of about $10 million, is due in theaters in 2007.