Dramatic!
Jakob the Liar (1999)
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Reviews Counted:71
Fresh:21
Rotten:50
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Any real story is buried by awkward performances and contrived situations.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: In Nazi-occupied Poland at the height of World War II, impoverished cafe owner Jakob (Williams) keeps hope and humor alive in the Jewish ghetto by reporting fictitious news bulletins about the... In Nazi-occupied Poland at the height of World War II, impoverished cafe owner Jakob (Williams) keeps hope and humor alive in the Jewish ghetto by reporting fictitious news bulletins about the Allied forces' advances against the Nazis to his fellow prisoners. Meanwhile, the Germans learn of the mythical radio and begin a search for the resistance hero who dares operate it. A remake of the 1974 German film, JAKOB, DER LUGNER. [More]
Starring: Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Alan Arkin
Starring: Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Alan Arkin, Hannah Gordon, Eva Igo, Bob Balaban
Director: Peter Kassovitz
Director: Peter Kassovitz
Screenwriter: Peter Kassovitz, Didier Decoin
Producer: Steven M. Haft
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Reviews for Jakob the Liar
It's jolting that such a potentially life-affirming movie could be so lifeless.
Jakob the Liar aspires to be a poignant parable about the power of hope but instead uses one of humanity's greatest tragedies for trite melodrama.
If telling lies can save a people, he reasons, let the stories – and those fictional tanks – roll.
Unfortunately, schmaltz seems to be the main ingredient in this particular kettle of fish.
As noble an effort this is, released a week after Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, it will only receive second-class accommodations from the movie-going public.
I cared more for the movie to end and end my suffering than for the suffering of the characters.
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