Jakob the Liar (1999)

Director:

Peter Kassovitz

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

When all hope was lost, he invented it.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Ghetto | Radio | German | Hope | Nazi

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Jakob le menteur (France)

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

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36159) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

TriStar Pictures

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jakob is chasing after the newspaper, a wire pulling the newspaper is briefly visible.

Quotes:

Jakob Heym: My name is Jakob Heym.
Miss Esther: The Jakob Heym? I imagined you much taller.
Jakob Heym: So did I.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)

Excellent Entertainment

If you are interested in the holocaust, and want to be entertained at the same time, Jakob the Liar is your film. This is not intended to be an historical film. And, to be sure, it isn't.

Just speaking for myself, I wish everyone would educate themselves about this horrible episode in human history. If you have a friend who refuses to watch honest historical films, turn them on to Jakob the Liar. It IS Robin Williams, after all. For sure, this film will encourage them to learn more about the holocaust. Its very entertaining and does give some superficial insight into what the atrocity was all about.

Robin Williams did his best. He did a fine job in this film, and deserves even more credit just for making the attempt. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it an 8.