IMDb > Jakob the Liar (1999)
Jakob the Liar
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Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   6,170 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 29% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Peter Kassovitz

Writers (WGA):

Jurek Becker (novel)
Peter Kassovitz (screenplay) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for Jakob the Liar on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (USA) more

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War more

Tagline:

When all hope was lost, he invented it. more

Plot:

In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew... more | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

3 nominations more

NewsDesk:

Robin Williams's Wife Files for Divorce
 (From PEOPLE.com. 25 March 2008, 10:45 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

Testifying To The Power Of Hope more (76 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robin Williams ... Jakob

Hannah Taylor-Gordon ... Lina (as Hannah Taylor Gordon)
Éva Igó ... Lina's Mother (as Eva Igo)
István Bálint ... Lina's Father (as Istvan Balint)
Justus von Dohnanyi ... Preuss

Kathleen Gati ... Hooker
Bob Balaban ... Kowalsky

Alan Arkin ... Frankfurter

Michael Jeter ... Avron

Mark Margolis ... Fajngold
János Gosztonyi ... Samuel (as Janos Gosztonyi)

Liev Schreiber ... Mischa

Armin Mueller-Stahl ... Kirschbaum
Ádám Rajhona ... The Whistler (as Adam Rajhona)
Antal Leisen ... Peg-Leg
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Jakob le menteur (France)
more

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

France | USA | Hungary

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays Dr. Kirschbaum (the Professor) was also in Jakob, der Lügner (1975) (upon which the 1999 film is based) as Roman Stahm, the brother of the character who was shot. more

Goofs:

Factual errors: The German officer referred to as "Herr General" wears the insignia of an SS-Colonel. more

Quotes:

Jakob Heym: Hitler goes to a fortune-teller and asks, "When will I die?" And the fortune-teller replies, "On a Jewish holiday." Hitler then asks, "How do you know that?" And she replies, "Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday." more

Movie Connections:

Featured in Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004) more

Soundtrack:

Gestillte Sehnsucht, Op. 91, NR 1 more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 20 people found the following comment useful.
Testifying To The Power Of Hope, 29 December 2001
7/10
Author: sddavis63 (revsdd@gmail.com) from Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada

Over the years, I have found Robin Williams to be one of the most frustrating actors around. Clearly loaded with talent, in my opinion at least most of his movies have been disappointments. He either gives unnecessarily over-the-top performances that really don't fit the context, or he controls his natural comedic instincts to the point at which he comes across as uninspired. So I wasn't sure what to expect in "Jakob the Liar." What I found was a surprisingly good performance in a wonderful movie.

Williams plays Jakob Heym, confined to the Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw by the Nazis during the Second World War. With hope fading, Heym accidentally discovers that Russian troops aren't far away, and begins to spread the news. Others become convinced that he has a radio hidden, and Heym's fictional "news reports" from the BBC provide enough hope to keep the residents of the Ghetto going through this dark time.

Williams (also executive producer) did a fine job as Heym. As one would expect, his character comes across as something of a comedian ("I believe we're God's Chosen People; I just wish He had chosen someone else!") but his humour is appropriate; the sort of dark humour one would expect from people in this situation. The other performances faded into the background, not because they were bad but because Williams so dominated the movie. Special mention should go to Justus von Dohnanyi, though, who played the Nazi Commandant "Preuss." Dohnanyi manages to capture exactly the sort of slimy, inhuman character one would expect to be put in charge of such a business. The rest of the cast (primarily Hannah Taylor-Gordon as Lina and Liev Schreiber as Mischa) are good, but overshadowed by Williams.

The character of Kirschbaum (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) filled me with sadness and represents a clear statement of the evils of Nazism. A world-famous cardiologist, Kirschbaum, because he is Jewish, is forbidden to practice medicine, and ends up cleaning toilets. Mueller-Stahl plays the character with a quiet dignity, and next to Williams is the clear highlight of the movie.

This movie represents a wonderful testimony to the importance of hope in helping people see themselves through what must seem to be impossible situations. Although fictional, it is an important movie for those with an interest in the events of this era.

7/10

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Jews in German military uniforms? Marc-Kupper
The end Bishant391
Russian song at the end juliomoc
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Plot Keywords: Possible *Spoilers* codynorris
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