Jakob The Liar (DVD)

'Hitler asks a fortune teller, when will I die? The fortune teller says: "On a Jewish holiday." "How do you know?" replies he. "ANY DAY you die on, will be a Jewish holiday!"' When I borrowed this, obviously I thought it would be good. But I didn't think it would be this good. I was slightly dubious about Robin Williams in this role. That was silly of me. Very silly. This is all about a man called Jakob who lives in a Jewish ghetto in a Polish town. Everyone is seriously depressed, commiting suicide and all. Jakob was a man who helped keep everyone's morale up a bit, like the joke above. Then, one day, he come to ...  Read the complete review

Jakob the Liar make quite an impact on me. There are incidents, some seemingly trivial, throughout the film, that stay in your mind and may even bring a lump to your throat. Robin Wiliams plays Jakob, a Jewish Cafe owner, in Nazi occupied Poland. At the start of the film he is chasing a single newspaper sheet, which is blowing in the wind, so that he can at least get some news of life outside the Ghetto. He gets caught by a Nazi guard and told to report to officer on duty. This is where the real story begins. Jakob overhears a forbidden news bulletinwhich speak of Soviet military victories against the Germans. He spreads the news among his friends and ...  Read the complete review

I was actually quite surprised that I enjoyed this film as much as I did. The best film about the Holocaust by far was "Schindler's List", and I don't think that any film will be able to top that one. While this one doesn't come close (and it doesn't try), it is still an entertaining movie. Jakob Heym (Robin Williams) is a man living in one of the many Jewish ghettos of the time. While outside the ghetto, he hears a newscast on the radio which tells him the Russians are about 400 kilometers away from his home there. This starts a chain of events which lead the occupants of the ghetto to believe he has a radio hidden in his apartment, ...  Read the complete review

Robin Williams.Mrs Doubtfire,Hook,Good Morning Vietnam,Alladin.What are these all?Funny,humourous and amusing.Jakob the Liar is also these things at times.But it is also a great story about the Jews in wartime.How they were treated and how they were punished.The story is about Jakob,who,after getting caught after hours,is sent to the German headquarters for that area and is to be punished.While he is waiting for someone he hears on the radio about where the Russians are and figures out they are coming this way to help them.When he is let away,unharmed and not punished,he tells one person that the Russians are on their way and that he heard it on the radio.The person he ...  Read the complete review

Films about any aspect of the holocaust need to be handled with sensitivity. The story needs to be accurate, well written and carefully crafted. It also, needs to have a cast of actors with integrity and genuine understanding, perhaps through research or personal experience. I am convinced that Robin Williams is the ideal Jakob in this film. Robin Williams has proven that he is a comic genious, but also, that he excels in serious drama too. I was really impressed in the film with how he managed to create such a strong identity for his character and he understood that through even the darkest times a strong sense of humour can support enlighten and ...  Read the complete review