Along the way, Jakob also helps Ben, his close friend and neighbor, himself the son of Holocaust survivors, gain an eventual understanding of his father's own behavior — his distance, even his cruelty.
Stephen Dillane (John Adams, Savage Grace), who seems to be popping up everywhere on screens large and small these days, is wonderful as the adult Jakob. He always seems to imbue his roles with a sense of simultaneous strength and fragility, and his Jakob Beer is haunted and hurting, living on a knife edge. Even when happy, you get the impression that Jakob is merely an observer of his own life. He is a distant spectator, anguished; when he meets Michaela, and finally begins to really begin to live again, Dillane peels away the layers and layers of Jacob's moribund heart and soul until we finally see him redeemed.
In fact, the entire cast is stellar. Robbie Kaye is excellent as the young Jakob — frightened, wary, guarded, truly a stranger in a strange land. His large, sad eyes evoke images of Oliver Twist, but with a stolen innocence. Rade Serbedzija’s gentle Athos is part Zorba and part Tevye, showing us a man suffering from his own grief and loss (his wife), which is mitigated by his love for the young Jakob.
This is not a film for everyone; it is quite bleak, and the sadness is occasionally oppressive. But director Jeremy Podeswa’s beautiful rendering and Dillane’s sensitive and graceful performance make it so very worthwhile (but bring a handkerchief or three).
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1 - Lisa McKay
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