Jakob, der Lügner (1975)

Director:

Frank Beyer

Writers:

Jurek Becker (novel)
Jurek Becker (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 April 1975 (East Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | War

Plot:

A Jewish ghetto in the east of Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio...

Plot Keywords:

Ghetto | Radio | Death | Hope | Soviet Army

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Vlastimil Brodský	...	Jakob Heym
Erwin Geschonneck	...	Kowalski
Henry Hübchen	...	Mischa
Blanche Kommerell	...	Rosa Frankfurter
Manuela Simon	...	Lina
Dezsö Garas	...	Frankfurter
Zsuzsa Gordon	...	Mrs. Frankfurter
Friedrich Richter	...	Dr. Kirschbaum
Margit Bara	...	Josefa
Reimar J. Baur	...	Herschel Schtamm
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Roman Schtamm
Hermann Beyer	...	Wachhabender
Klaus Brasch	...	Najdorf
Jürgen Hilbrecht	...	Schwocj
Paul Lewitt	...	Horowitz

Also Known As:

Jacob the Liar (USA)
Jakub lhár (Czechoslovakia: Czech title)
Jakub luhár (Czechoslovakia: Slovak title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

East Germany | Czechoslovakia

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f)

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

Because Vlastimil Brodský didn't speak German very well, he did all dialogues in his mother tongue and was dubbed over for the German release of the film. This language barrier also made the scenes of dialog between him and the other actors (especially Erwin Geschonneck) a challenge.

Quotes:

Mischa: I just wanted to say to you... I mean... you know... We're all here... I wanted to ask you and your wife, of course...
Jakob Heym: Speak freely, you're not asking for my hand, are you?
Mischa: I'm asking for Rosa's.

Movie Connections:

Version of Jakob the Liar (1999)

The Real McCoy

One of the legacies of the late GDR (East Germany) is a treasure-trove of cultural productions, much of which has been inaccessible to us. An exception is the 1974 DEFA (GDR successor to pre-1945 Ufa Film Studio) production "Jacob the Liar", which enjoyed a brief exposure in the US in the late '70s, even being nominated for an Academy Award. If you missed it, this is your chance to have it, beautifully transferred to DVD (also another justification for splurging on a DVD player, if you haven't already). Although it can be viewed without, the subtitles (your choice of language)are well-worded and legible.

"Jacob" centers on a man inadvertently finding himself a focus of hope among the doomed in a Polish ghetto. Circumstances have him reluctantly pretending to possess a forbidden radio, which leads to dramatic (and comedic) situations, and even raises moral questions and insights about truth and responsibility in such an adverse context. Billed as a tragic comedy, the acting and pacing of the story are equal to the serious nature of the subject.

Director Frank Beyer's "Jacob" should not be confused with the 1999 Hollywood remake starring the talented (but often glib and facetious) Robin Williams. This Columbia distribution is a sort of roadrunner-cartoon version trying to be profound. It has the frantic pacing and excessive gratuitous violence evidently presumed necessary to put it over. If you must have a Holocaust-era drama that can bear watching more than once, get the real McCoy.