Fans of Fugitive Pieces — either the Anne Michaels novel or the movie that opened last year’s Toronto International Film Festival — will be in for a surprise when the latter gets its commercial release on May 2. The poignant tale of Holocaust survivor Jakob Beer’s life and loves has been re-edited, changing the ending from tragic to happy.

The new cut (spoiler alert…) leaves Jakob alive, anticipating the birth of a child with his love Michaela, instead of perishing in a traffic accident.

Reaction to the first version was ‘overwhelmingly positive’ insists writer/director Jeremy Podeswa, but many also, ‘found the experience of watching it incredibly despairing.’

‘Clearly that was never our intention… we always believed that the film should be inspirational and hopeful, even as it deals with very difficult and complex subject matter,’ he says.

Podeswa closely supervised the new cut with editor Wiebke von Carolsfeld. ‘There were no re-shoots and we felt that we would only make changes if they could be done in a simple, organic way that was true to the tone and essence of the film as it already existed,’ he says. ‘We felt that the changes should be subtle yet meaningful.’

Artistic merit aside, the filmmakers also had to consider the picture’s commercial potential. ‘We wanted to maintain the goodwill and intensity of feeling that the film engenders throughout,’ says Podeswa, adding that that the new cut has been well-received at early screenings in the U.S. The picture will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the U.S., and by Maximum Films Distribution in Canada.

Michaels has seen the new version and concedes that, ‘these changes for me are controversial.’

Recalling her reasons for making Jakob’s fate tragic, Michaels points out that his destiny is known from the beginning of the book. ‘It was very important that it’s somewhere in the back of your mind while reading the book,’ she tells Playback Daily. ‘The novel is haunted. I wanted the reader to feel the absence of Jakob.’

‘The legacy of his life is [fulfilled] not through a child of his own,’ but through his life and poetry, ‘something beyond the personal,’ she says.

Nonetheless, she speaks highly of the film, its cast and crew. ‘The film is full of compassion and complexity and the performances by Robbie Kaye, Rade Sherbedgia and Stephen Dillane are incredibly powerful. Jeremy’s integrity can be felt at every turn,’ she says. Dillane stars as Jakob. Sherbedgia plays Athos, the Greek Christian who saves the young Jewish boy during World War Two.

Pieces ‘contains achingly moving scenes, images that speak a truth and seem saturated with sorrow,’ she continues. ‘From our first conversations it was clear that [Podeswa] felt the crucial necessity — that the film honor the dead.’

The relationship between Athos and Jakob is at the heart of both the film and book for producer Robert Lantos. ‘This film is, at its core, about a selfless act of human kindness. A man risks his life to save that of a stranger, with no possible recompense. No material reward, no medal of honor, no celebrity hero status, no talk show bookings, no book and movie deal,’ he says.

‘He gives love without pausing to consider what’s in it for him. And that love in turn is passed on to others and heals each of its recipients,’ he adds. ‘We believe that in the final version of Fugitive Pieces this, the central theme of our movie, is crystallized with the power of truth.’