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Jacob the Liar

Released Apr 24, 1977 1h 40m Comedy Drama List
100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 85% Audience Score 500+ Ratings Based on the lauded novel by Jurek Becker, this dark comedy focuses on Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský), a Jew living in a Polish ghetto. When Jakob is temporarily detained by German officers and overhears news on their radio that the Russians are advancing on Nazi forces, he is thrilled at the prospect of freedom. In order to convince others of the news, Jakob pretends that he has a radio of his own -- a serious crime in the ghetto -- and begins making up stories to maintain his deception. Read More Read Less

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This East Germany bitter-sweet comedy about a Polish ghetto in WWII was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar but didn't win. Rated: B Dec 15, 2010 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 3/5 Jan 10, 2005 Full Review Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) Rated: 3/5 Feb 24, 2004 Full Review Jules Brenner Cinema Signals Rated: 3/5 Nov 11, 2003 Full Review Wesley Lovell Apollo Guide Rated: 76/100 Apr 23, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (18) audience reviews
Audience Member As a film the quality is not amazing, but the story is. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Captures the inevitability of the situation quite well, even as the variations on the theme of lying/storytelling are a bit clunkily contrasted. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member True story about the Jews, set in war time (Poland) ...great acting as always by Robin Williams Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member 1975 East German film version of Jurek Becker's novel. Jacob is tempted to give away one piece of news that spirals into a series of lies that create hope for all, and the question becomes if such creation of hope, under these circumstances, is the right thing to do. Watch it, even though it is with sub titles. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Very good Oscar nominated foreign film from Germany (technically from East Germany) about the title character Jacob who lives with his young niece in a Jewish ghetto near the end of WWII and manages to convince everyone in the village that he is in possession of a radio. Of course this is all a lie, but giving his suffering friends “news” gives them hope, so he’s unable to get out of the lie he keeps getting himself deeper into. A nice story with some sweet moments as well as some disturbing ones, the whole cast does a great job. The ending is excellent. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Not sure I'd call it a "drama/comedy." I imagine this must have at least partially inspired "Life is Beautiful," which I actually LOVE (and that, yes, can see the commedic element in). It was a sad but important piece. I am not one of those who think we have enough Holocaust movies, and I'm always up for more. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Jacob the Liar

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Movie Info

Synopsis Based on the lauded novel by Jurek Becker, this dark comedy focuses on Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský), a Jew living in a Polish ghetto. When Jakob is temporarily detained by German officers and overhears news on their radio that the Russians are advancing on Nazi forces, he is thrilled at the prospect of freedom. In order to convince others of the news, Jakob pretends that he has a radio of his own -- a serious crime in the ghetto -- and begins making up stories to maintain his deception.
Director
Frank Beyer
Distributor
MacMillan Films
Production Co
Fernsehen der DDR (DDR-FS), Filmové studio Barrandov, Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe Johannisthal, VEB DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 24, 1977, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 19, 1999
Runtime
1h 40m