Jacob the Liar

Amazon.com

The inspiration for the 1999 Robin Williams comedy Jakob the Liar didn't come from Roberto Begnini's acclaimed tragifarce Life Is Beautiful; it's a remake of a 1976 German film. Curiously enough, the original wasn't so much a comedy as a wistful, sad drama of the human spirit buoyed by memories, fantasies, and a lie that takes on a life of its own. Set in the waning days of the Warsaw ghetto when the Polish Jews have all but given up hope as the population dwindles and rumors fly, sad sack Jakob (Vlastimil Brodsky) overhears news of a Russian advance on a nearby German town while detained at the police station. Because no one will believe he survived a visit to the Nazi police, he makes up a story of a hidden radio. News of Jakob's secret spreads like wildfire through the town, lifting spirits and starting debates, and he's forced to start making up news to keep the neighbors satisfied. In the film's most touching scene, Jakob creates a mock broadcast for the orphaned girl he looks after. She peeks around the corner to see his handiwork, then chooses to believe the fantasy instead and sits back down to enjoy his stories. Frank Beyer's picture, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1977, becomes a quiet, gently ironic tale about the need to believe, against all evidence. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Trapped in a Polish Ghetto with thousands of other Jews facing starvation or deportation to the death camps, Jacob is detained one evening at Gestapo headquarters. Eavesdropping, he overhears a radio report about a nearby Russian victory. At first he is silent, but circumstances compel him to pass on the good news of hope. In order to be believed, he feigns access to a hidden, strictly forbidden radio. Quickly he becomes a one-man bulwark against despair, a reluctant hero, but a tragic figure still-a man ultimately powerless to see or change the fate of his people. Jacob the Liar is a heartbreaking yet funny film that enlivens with the sheer power of its insight.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful ending--but a chore to get there.......2007-02-11

This move has a very powerful ending, but unfortunately it is a chore to get there. The script and many of the characters aren't all that interesting. The acting is mixed--Manuela Simon, who plays Jacob's ten-year old (or so) niece, out-acts them all, except for of course Vlastimil Brodský (Jacob) and Erwin Geschonneck (Kowalski) who do give fine performances. There is nothing notable about the other performances. The film moves along at a stagy, slow pace. The deprivations of life in the Ghetto are not fleshed out. Same with the brutality of the Nazis. This makes the film seem at best ungenuine and at worst dishonest. But the powerful ending makes up for it all. However, I wish there had been more interesting drama along the way. There's no tension in the film at all. It reminded me a bit of Gus Van Sant's "Elephant," where we see the mundane, somewhat boring day in the life of some high school students--it moves at a snail's pace, but that's what makes the ending especially shocking and disturbing. Also in Jacob the Liar there are some (in my opinion unsuccessful) attempts at humor. But the subject of the film is no laughing matter. So I have a lot of nits to pick with this film, but I'll be haunted by the ending forever.

Jacob the Liar.......2001-06-08

Such a powerful film. Great direction by Frank Beyer and great acting by Vlastimil. A real gem from East Germany.

A humorous and very touching movie!.......2000-07-20

I thouroughly enjoyed this movie, which takes place in a Jewish ghetto during the holocaust. It has a nice combination of humour, drama, and sadness. In the end it brought me to tears. It really shows the desperation of hopelessness facing the Jewish people in Germany during the holocaust, and the cruelty of the Germans towards them at that time.

Great Movie , Buy It !.......2000-06-29

It's a very good movie , that ilustrate in a excellent way the way people sufer in places like this . Excelent Movie

Long Live hope.......2000-04-10

If you've seen Life is Beautiful...you will like this for sure...for those who haven't...the movie takes place in a Jewish "ghetto" under Germany's control. This movie isn't a war story as much as it is about Hope and the ability to bring hope to people in the most dire of circumstances. Robin Williams is very good in this movie although maybe not quite frightened enough of the Germans. Although I guess without experiencing that sort of thing, it would be hard to portray the kind of fear that I'm sure the people at that time felt. The movie has a few light-hearted moments that add to the flow of the movie...although be warned, it starts a little slow. The pay off definitely comes in the end though.

Average customer rating:

Jacob the Liar [Region 2]
Starring: Vlastimil Brodský , Erwin Geschonneck , Henry Hübchen , Blanche Kommerell , and Manuela Simon
Director: Frank Beyer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004RYTH

Average customer rating:

I think some reviewers are missing the point
another ethnic cleansing film .......so we do not forget......very moving
comedy in the face of despair
Read the book instead
Very good and it shows the importance well.

Jacob the Liar [Region 2]
Starring: Vlastimil Brodský , Erwin Geschonneck , Henry Hübchen , Blanche Kommerell , and Manuela Simon
Director: Frank Beyer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004UF12

Amazon.com

Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful aside, milking the Holocaust for laughs is a dangerous game. Even the blackest, most therapeutic humor turns queasy in the shadow of such monstrous evil; it's like dancing on a mass grave. So Jakob the Liar's got a hard road to hoe--its eponymous schlemiel plays out his semi-farcical adventures in the mean streets of the Warsaw Ghetto circa 1944. The skies are always leaden over Jakob's hometown, reflecting the comic climate that pervades this mostly unfortunate adaptation of Jurek Becker's autobiographical book (first filmed in 1975).

Jakob Heym (Robin Williams in overbearingly earnest mode) gets tangled in a string of self-perpetuating lies about a hidden radio, supposedly broadcasting news that the victorious Red Army is nearing. His desperate attempts to convince a clutch of insistently idiosyncratic friends (clichés to a man: Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Michael Jeter, Alan Arkin) and obligatory Nazi bad guys that the radio doesn't exist are complicated by the fact that he's stashed a fugitive kid (a dead ringer--sorry!--for Anne Frank) in his attic--and by abundant evidence that lies are the best medicine for the ghetto's skyrocketing suicide rate. Copious unfunny misunderstandings and pratfalls eventuate in this Holocaust rendition of Fiddler on the Roof (you expect Williams to break into song: "If I were a funny man...."). Ultimately, Jakob the Liar loses its way for good in some very ugly violence and a rather nasty final twist: the film's ending might just be rubbing our noses in another feel-good lie. --Kathleen Murphy

Customer Reviews:

I think some reviewers are missing the point.......2007-03-20

I understand that the Holocaust is a sensitive subject to people of all ages, races, religions, gender, and so on. It is important that the world understands how and why this happened, and i commend all people who make an effort to recast and teach the world the terror that so many were subjected to.
Yes, we all know Robin Williams to be the slapstick comedian which has brought tears of laughter to our eyes instead of ones of compassion. But like Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful, Williams brings to life a character who tries to lift the spirits of friends and strangers who are looking for one thing, hope.
Whether Williams' character was real or imaginary, the human spirit can never be completely wiped by tyranny and oppression. 10 million people, including 6 million Jews were systematically killed before the Nazi's were finally stopped. Some died as fighters, some gave their lives for others, and some gave just simple acts of kindness, good will, and love. Each one of them were heroes of their own kind.
William's character told lies about Russian troop advancement to give the Jews of his Ghetto the will to survive and resist. Like real life heroes such as Rauol Wallenberg, Oskar Schindler, Mordecai Anielewicz, Hannah Senesh, and thousands of others who risked their lives for others, this is a story of a good man.
Maybe this movie was not an exact interpretation of its predecessors, books or movies, and yes it did have some hollywood-like moments. But oeverall, a tribute to the men, women, and children who shall always be remembered and never forgotten.

another ethnic cleansing film .......so we do not forget......very moving.......2007-01-10

jewish soles trying to avoid the devil's brigade (hitler's killing machine).... sad, but oh so funny and cute in sections that alas, maybe only the jewish people would truly understand. i found it all of these things but with love, warmth to the end.

comedy in the face of despair.......2006-05-02

I saw this film on television some time ago.

Robin Williams superbly portrays a Jew existing in a Ghetto in occupied Poland surrounded by nazis. In this despairing situation he tries to keep his own spirits up while hiding a fugitive from the deportations to the Death Camps. One lie after another, he inadvertently tries to fib his way through his dayly existence until they finally catch up with him.

A heartful story. Excelletn performance by Robbin Williams. The supporting cast does their job well. The ending Hopeful.

Read the book instead.......2005-11-22

I originally read the novel (of which I assume most of the other reviewers are unaware) and watched the earlier German film of the same name for a college course entitled "Memory and Mourning in Post-War Germany."

I'd just like to point out that the film is a horrible depiction of the novel. It seems that the director wanted to make a more "Hollywood" version of the film, and I think he succeeded. For instance, the entire ending is completely different from that of the novel, and in my opinion is completely wrong for the story.

In general, the film has little to do with any of the original versions, and is far inferior.

Very good and it shows the importance well........2005-10-12

We had to watch this for school and we just finished it today. I thought it was a terrific film. The end was very sad but still good!

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