Jakob the Liar

Name: Jakob the Liar
Genre: Drama, Comedy, War
Released: September 24, 1999
Duration: 120 min
Rating: 40
Cast: Robin Williams

1999

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Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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Jakob The Liar

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Movie Details & Credits

TriStar Pictures | Release Date: September 24, 1999 | PG-13

Starring: Robin Williams

Summary: A story about the astonishing things that happen when despair turns to hope among the residents of this small village in Nazi-occupied Poland. (Columbia Tristar)

Director: Peter Kassovitz

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, War

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 120 min

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Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy

A markedly better picture than Roberto Benigni's far more sentimental Oscar collector. Read full review

Diana Abu-Jaber

Soggy. Read full review

Film.com Sean Means

The audience is ready for an unhappy ending -- and Hollywood should have the courage to provide it. Read full review

Wesley Morris

More altruistic would be if Williams stopped torturing us with weepy endearments so he could look for that complex clown who used to mug just for laughs. Read full review

Janet Maslin

Alternates between bumbling group antics and strained poignancy...anticipates all laughter and emotion in ways that make it its own worst enemy. Read full review

Film.com Robert Horton

Even on its own terms, it stays sluggish. Read full review

John Patterson

Just avoid this ghastly, insulting farrago at all costs. Read full review

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FilipeNeto

Aug 31, 2018

In the midst of World War II, the Germans confined the Jews to isolated neighborhoods called ghettos, isolated from the surrounding world and without news of what was happening. This, coupled with the ill-treatment, hunger and prospect of massacre at the hands of the Germans, led many JewsIn the midst of World War II, the Germans confined the Jews to isolated neighborhoods called ghettos, isolated from the surrounding world and without news of what was happening. This, coupled with the ill-treatment, hunger and prospect of massacre at the hands of the Germans, led many Jews to commit suicide. Jakob is just another Jew who, after being picked up on the street after the obligatory curfew, is arrested. In the German barracks, he hears a radio news that tells his friends when he is finally released. But they do not believe it and think he owns a radio at home, a crime that can give immediate death sentence if the Germans catch him. But Jakob's secret (who starts inventing fake news as he sees the positive effect this brings on the mood of his friends) is just an orphan, whom he hides and helps in his attic.

This film is a slight drama past in historical setting. The script has good premises, but it is a bit annoying and I felt that it was stretched until almost broke, not having a proper story to justify the length of the film. Another problem was the whole movie: if the film was more intense and dramatic, it would have been more well received, but it was a narrow path between drama and comedy, with hilarious scenes contrasting with more dramatic ones. This path proved as fatal and dangerous as sailing between Cila and Caríbdis, as if the film did not know what it wanted to be. I also felt that the film made no effort to capture and capture my interest, and that this made the film too warm and stationary. The end is greatly improved, with the dramatic intensity reinforcing itself and leaving aside any comic ambition.

Robin Williams is the protagonist and, contrary to the usual image of the actor, does not give us a comic and histrionic performance, but something more restrained, more serious and strong. The actor does not make a bad performance but seems a little dislocated in a movie that wants to be dramatic. The mere participation of this actor reinforces the comical penchant of the film and sharpens the problem I mentioned, about the film being neither comic nor dramatic. The remaining cast is quite well and there are some actors well known to the general public.… Expand

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