17 reviews
The Holocaust has been told in many different ways. We have seen the brutality of it in documentaries on cable as well as in a number of contemporary films. The visuals of Aryan supremacy in Leni Reifenstahl's Nazi propaganda films, images of mountains of dead Jews and extremely inhumane conditions in death camps in Schindler's List, serve not merely to drive the film narrative but stir our emotions as well. These images have conditioned us to read such films and documentaries using stereotypes of both the Jews and the Nazi Jews are good and the Nazi, evil. The film Jakob the Liar explores the holocaust in a new light, presenting anti-Semitism in a relatively subtle way without compromising its substance as well as the film's power to move human emotion.
The music is monotonous suggesting the monotony of the protagonists' lives in the ghetto. Shots are limited to medium shots and lots of close-ups making one feel claustrophobic, enveloped, and asphyxiated even. This immensely adds to an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. Close-ups also give specific information about the character, their feelings, the way they live, the things they've gone thought and their relationships with each other. The personal information provided us makes us develop a sense of closeness with the characters. Midway in the film, we already have a bond with the characters, we already know their real feelings despite the lightness, surrealistic and oftentimes humorous treatment of the scenes.
It is also quite extraordinary to depict the Nazi they way this film did considering that this is a holocaust film and one of the first East German film to tackle the subject. Unlike in other film where the Nazis are portrayed as unreasonably evil and sadistic, here we are given a glimpse of their humanity. In the introductory scene where a tower guard tells Jakob to report to Gestapo headquarters for not complying with the curfew, we saw instances where Jakob would have surely been severely punished or even killed but the officers were surprisingly reasonable and just. One officer caught him eavesdropping but lets him go, Jakob then wakes up a sleeping head officer to report his misdemeanor yet even with being irritated for being roused awake, he lets Jakob go without a scratch. The tower-guard, proved wrong, lets Jakob go as well. We also saw guards who are not necessarily the perfect Aryan depicted in Riefenstahl films. There was one guard who walks with a limp and another having the runs. There was also a scene where one guard beats up a Jew (Kowalski), then later returns and drops two sticks of cigarettes for Kowalski - an unspoken apology for having beaten up the Jew. A Nazi apologizing to a Jew in a holocaust film! Is that something or what?
But then, the film doesn't make us hate the Nazi guards or to view them as the villains in the film. Instead we are made to understand the situation and the circumstance is the real enemy here. This is not a movie pitting the Jews against their Nazi guards like the director's own "Naked among Wolves"; this is a film about a people's struggle to maintain their dignity and humanity amidst the hardships they have suffered.
The film started with glimpses of the ghetto and Jakob checking out his sick niece, all these visuals already gives us an idea of the life of the protagonist and the place he lives in. Then in a very short verbal exchange with one of the ghetto's denizen, Jakob gives us a background of his situation, that a guard took his watch from him. The guy he was talking to on the other hand warns him about the curfew to which he answers that without his watch, has no way to tell time. This sequence tells us that first, the guards can take and do take from the Jews anything they want and second, that the people are in constant fear of the guards and dare not disobey any rules lest one wants to be severely punished or killed. It also tells us that in the event that Jakob gets killed, he will be leaving his young and sick niece to care for herself.
The character's actions and mood also imply of a prevailing state of constant fear - whether that of being killed or seeing someone close to you die a meaningless death.The Jews in the film were waiting for an inevitable annihilation, a fate they have long accepted until Jakob gave them an alternate view of the future because of his news of a possible liberation by the Russians.
Through out the film, we are still constantly given pieces of Jewish life before the ghetto. Through flashbacks and what the characters say, we are presented concrete glimpses of how their lives of the films protagonists were before the ghetto. We also shown that in the ghetto, former actors, lawyers, businessmen and even people from the church lose their former identities. In the ghetto, they are made to wear the star and made to work and follow rules like everybody else, albeit their former position or affiliation. Everybody suffers, everyone is subjected to the harshness of ghetto life everyday there's no distinction in class, social status, age and/or sex. We see old people doing hard labor, children getting sick and eating mere crumbs or pieces of vegetables. We see the protagonists picking flies out of their soup and making a feast out of minced onion and a slice of bread. Frank Bayer told the story and made us feel what the characters felt using visuals and very powerful visuals at that.
The music is monotonous suggesting the monotony of the protagonists' lives in the ghetto. Shots are limited to medium shots and lots of close-ups making one feel claustrophobic, enveloped, and asphyxiated even. This immensely adds to an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. Close-ups also give specific information about the character, their feelings, the way they live, the things they've gone thought and their relationships with each other. The personal information provided us makes us develop a sense of closeness with the characters. Midway in the film, we already have a bond with the characters, we already know their real feelings despite the lightness, surrealistic and oftentimes humorous treatment of the scenes.
It is also quite extraordinary to depict the Nazi they way this film did considering that this is a holocaust film and one of the first East German film to tackle the subject. Unlike in other film where the Nazis are portrayed as unreasonably evil and sadistic, here we are given a glimpse of their humanity. In the introductory scene where a tower guard tells Jakob to report to Gestapo headquarters for not complying with the curfew, we saw instances where Jakob would have surely been severely punished or even killed but the officers were surprisingly reasonable and just. One officer caught him eavesdropping but lets him go, Jakob then wakes up a sleeping head officer to report his misdemeanor yet even with being irritated for being roused awake, he lets Jakob go without a scratch. The tower-guard, proved wrong, lets Jakob go as well. We also saw guards who are not necessarily the perfect Aryan depicted in Riefenstahl films. There was one guard who walks with a limp and another having the runs. There was also a scene where one guard beats up a Jew (Kowalski), then later returns and drops two sticks of cigarettes for Kowalski - an unspoken apology for having beaten up the Jew. A Nazi apologizing to a Jew in a holocaust film! Is that something or what?
But then, the film doesn't make us hate the Nazi guards or to view them as the villains in the film. Instead we are made to understand the situation and the circumstance is the real enemy here. This is not a movie pitting the Jews against their Nazi guards like the director's own "Naked among Wolves"; this is a film about a people's struggle to maintain their dignity and humanity amidst the hardships they have suffered.
The film started with glimpses of the ghetto and Jakob checking out his sick niece, all these visuals already gives us an idea of the life of the protagonist and the place he lives in. Then in a very short verbal exchange with one of the ghetto's denizen, Jakob gives us a background of his situation, that a guard took his watch from him. The guy he was talking to on the other hand warns him about the curfew to which he answers that without his watch, has no way to tell time. This sequence tells us that first, the guards can take and do take from the Jews anything they want and second, that the people are in constant fear of the guards and dare not disobey any rules lest one wants to be severely punished or killed. It also tells us that in the event that Jakob gets killed, he will be leaving his young and sick niece to care for herself.
The character's actions and mood also imply of a prevailing state of constant fear - whether that of being killed or seeing someone close to you die a meaningless death.The Jews in the film were waiting for an inevitable annihilation, a fate they have long accepted until Jakob gave them an alternate view of the future because of his news of a possible liberation by the Russians.
Through out the film, we are still constantly given pieces of Jewish life before the ghetto. Through flashbacks and what the characters say, we are presented concrete glimpses of how their lives of the films protagonists were before the ghetto. We also shown that in the ghetto, former actors, lawyers, businessmen and even people from the church lose their former identities. In the ghetto, they are made to wear the star and made to work and follow rules like everybody else, albeit their former position or affiliation. Everybody suffers, everyone is subjected to the harshness of ghetto life everyday there's no distinction in class, social status, age and/or sex. We see old people doing hard labor, children getting sick and eating mere crumbs or pieces of vegetables. We see the protagonists picking flies out of their soup and making a feast out of minced onion and a slice of bread. Frank Bayer told the story and made us feel what the characters felt using visuals and very powerful visuals at that.
- jingvillareal
- Sep 18, 2005
- Permalink
In 1944, in Poland, the Jew Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský) breaks the curfew in the ghetto where he lives and a guard in the lookout sends him to see the chief of the guards. Jakob is released by the German, but overhears a radio broadcasting that the Russians are advancing towards their town. On the next morning, his comrade Mischa (Henry Hübchen) wants to risk his life to steal a couple of potatoes in a German store, Jakob tells that the Russians are coming and confides that he has a radio. Soon the secret Jakob has told to Mischa is known by the residents of the ghetto and Jakob notes that his lies give hope to the Jews, reducing the number of suicide. Meanwhile his niece Lina (Manuela Simon), who is sick, gets better with Jakob stories and believes that clouds are made of cotton balls.
"Jakob, der Lügner" is a dramatic film with a beautiful and heartbreaking story of hope and survival in one of the saddest and darkest moments of the contemporary history. The analogy between Jakob's radio that gives hope to his comrades and the cotton balls that helps his niece to live a fairytale is the summit of this tale and the open conclusion where the viewer does not know what he will tell to Lina are amazing. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Jacob, o Mentiroso" ("Jacob, the Liar")
"Jakob, der Lügner" is a dramatic film with a beautiful and heartbreaking story of hope and survival in one of the saddest and darkest moments of the contemporary history. The analogy between Jakob's radio that gives hope to his comrades and the cotton balls that helps his niece to live a fairytale is the summit of this tale and the open conclusion where the viewer does not know what he will tell to Lina are amazing. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Jacob, o Mentiroso" ("Jacob, the Liar")
- claudio_carvalho
- Feb 14, 2016
- Permalink
This was the first and only East German film ever to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language film Oscar. It won many other awards, and features three actors, who are still very much active today. It has been re released in video throughout the world. I saw it after ordering it recently from Amazon.com. For all the accolades the film received, I must say that I enjoyed the recent American remake, directed by a Hungarian Holocaust Survivor, much more. I know the critics panned this version, but curiously the same things critics hated about the remake are taken right out of this, the original. In any case, the original is also good, though disappointing if you enjoyed the recent JACOB... The film does offer us the opportunity to see the famous Czech actor, V. Brodsky, still very active in Czech film and TV. We also see a young (late 30s) Armin Mueller-Stahl, prior to his defection from Communist East Germany. Interestingly, he also starred in the recent remake as the sixtyish doctor in the film. The young romantic (played by L. Schreiber in the remake) is played by the still active Henry Hubchen, recently featured in the German hit SONNENALLEE. In my opinion, the film is mostly worthwhile for these hindsight curiosity values. However, many will feel it is indeed a landmark film, on its own. Watch it and decide what you think.
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.
"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.
This East German movie is a very unusual movie about the Holocaust because it focuses on life within the ghetto. However, the film seemed a bit sanitized in how the residents looked and how they were treated. Unlike some later films, some of the Jews in this film looked awfully well-fed and conditions didn't seem all that bad. The cattle car where the remaining Jews were placed seemed rather spacious and not all that bad either--even though in reality many died on the cars due to conditions. In addition, some of the German soldiers seemed pretty nice. Perhaps this might have been that the Soviet-dominated East Germans were more willing to talk about their sordid past but were still struggling with fully accepting it. Whatever is the case, this aspect of the film did surprise me a bit.
Now as for the rest of the film, it was marvelous and provided an odd insight into life in the ghettos. The acting was excellent and the film is very much worth seeing, though not nearly as compelling as THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET, SCHINDLER'S LIST or AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS. I have not seen the recent remake starring Robin Williams, so I can't really compare the two, but my inclination is almost always to go with the originals.
PS--The English captioning for this film is pretty poor. Instead of directly translating what is said, it's often summarized or even wrong. My knowledge of German isn't too bad, and several times what they said did not correspond at all to the captioning. You can't blame the film makers for this, but the company that released the film.
Now as for the rest of the film, it was marvelous and provided an odd insight into life in the ghettos. The acting was excellent and the film is very much worth seeing, though not nearly as compelling as THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET, SCHINDLER'S LIST or AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS. I have not seen the recent remake starring Robin Williams, so I can't really compare the two, but my inclination is almost always to go with the originals.
PS--The English captioning for this film is pretty poor. Instead of directly translating what is said, it's often summarized or even wrong. My knowledge of German isn't too bad, and several times what they said did not correspond at all to the captioning. You can't blame the film makers for this, but the company that released the film.
- planktonrules
- Nov 19, 2006
- Permalink
Only a very few films have succeeded in treating the plight of the Jews under the Nazis with a sense of humor, but this is one of them. Sort of an earlier variation on 'Life is Beautiful', but this is far less saccharine, and the humor here is dry and sad, not slapstick and wacky.
In a Jewish ghetto in 1944, Jacob is brought to the police station for curfew violation. There he hears news on the radio that the Russians are advancing nearer. He uses this hopeful news to stop a fellow ghetto resident from committing sure suicide by trying to steal extra food. But in a moment of foolishness, Jacob claims he heard the news on his own secret radio. Soon the entire town is hounding him for positive news, and the shy quiet Jacob has become an unwanted celebrity and bringer of hope, forcing him into a moral quandary and more lies. The power of this simple fable is enhanced by some very touching flashbacks where we see these now beaten down characters as their lives were just a few years before – full of love, laughter, food to eat, nice homes.
Vlastimil Brodsky is great as Jacob, even if he's unfortunately dubbed into German. He avoids the traps of sentimentality or self-pity. Right to the end this is an honest and moving tale of trying to retain one's humanity in the face of ever more overwhelming odds. The hard-to- find DVD could have a better image, but the print was apparently in bad shape from ill- storage in East Germany. (This was the only East German film ever nominated for an Oscar)
In a Jewish ghetto in 1944, Jacob is brought to the police station for curfew violation. There he hears news on the radio that the Russians are advancing nearer. He uses this hopeful news to stop a fellow ghetto resident from committing sure suicide by trying to steal extra food. But in a moment of foolishness, Jacob claims he heard the news on his own secret radio. Soon the entire town is hounding him for positive news, and the shy quiet Jacob has become an unwanted celebrity and bringer of hope, forcing him into a moral quandary and more lies. The power of this simple fable is enhanced by some very touching flashbacks where we see these now beaten down characters as their lives were just a few years before – full of love, laughter, food to eat, nice homes.
Vlastimil Brodsky is great as Jacob, even if he's unfortunately dubbed into German. He avoids the traps of sentimentality or self-pity. Right to the end this is an honest and moving tale of trying to retain one's humanity in the face of ever more overwhelming odds. The hard-to- find DVD could have a better image, but the print was apparently in bad shape from ill- storage in East Germany. (This was the only East German film ever nominated for an Oscar)
- runamokprods
- Apr 16, 2014
- Permalink
This move has a very powerful ending, but unfortunately it is a chore to get there. The script and many of the characters aren't all that interesting. The acting is mixed--Manuela Simon, who plays Jacob's ten-year old (or so) niece, out-acts them all, except for of course Vlastimil Brodský (Jacob) and Erwin Geschonneck (Kowalski) who do give fine performances. There is nothing notable about the other performances. The film moves along at a stagy, slow pace. The deprivations of life in the Ghetto are not fleshed out. Same with the brutality of the Nazis. This makes the film seem at best ungenuine and at worst dishonest. But the powerful ending makes up for it all. However, I wish there had been more interesting drama along the way. There's no tension in the film at all. It reminded me a bit of Gus Van Sant's "Elephant," where we see the mundane, somewhat boring day in the life of some high school students--it moves at a snail's pace, but that's what makes the ending especially shocking and disturbing. Also in Jacob the Liar there are some (in my opinion unsuccessful) attempts at humor. But the subject of the film is no laughing matter. So I have a lot of nits to pick with this film, but I'll be haunted by the ending forever. forever.
- vaynard_12
- Sep 27, 2005
- Permalink
- Horst_In_Translation
- Jun 12, 2016
- Permalink
I think this film was very well done. I was drawn into the plot and characters very quickly. I would reccommend this film to anyone who would enjoy a new outlook on life. I know that is one of the things I got from watching this movie. Jakob was a very charismatic person and I could not wait to find out what would happen to him and his comrades. Though this movie was not very fast paced, there was enough going on that kept me interested during the entire movie.
This movie is a story full of lies that brought more hope to the Jews living in the Ghetto. Jakob was the one being outside after curfew and he had to report to the Police, and after walking into the station he heard some news on the Radio. He thought that it was good news that the Russians were coming closer. He could not m=keep that to himself so he went and told this to one of his friends who was not supposed to say anything. After a short while the whole Ghetto was talking about those news. Jakob saw that everybody was feeling much better so he continued to tell lies about the news. This is a movie that gets better and better as it moves along. It also gives hope to the Jewish people in the Ghetto and Jakob was having good intentions but it just complicated itself more and more.
Jacob the Liar
I liked this movie, and I think it had good lessons to learn from. I liked Lena's character. She was completely innocent throughout the entire movie, and I felt that she showed not everyone had lost hope during the time. Even at the end, she was excited that they were going away, and she had no clue where. She was just being a kid, and going anywhere is exciting when you are young. Jacob starting telling stories about the Russians and other things he knew about the war. The reality was that he knew nothing more than anyone else. In a way, it did help the people's spirits though. But in the end, everyone was unhappy because their optimism was crushed with the sign that said everyone was to gather together with less than 5 kilos in luggage so they could `go away'.
I think my favorite scene was when the old man thought he heard voices in the freight car. While I was watching the movie, I thought he was crazy and apparently so did everyone else. They all thought he was just hearing things that weren't there. The reality was that there was someone in the car, but they never showed who and a guard shot the old man before he could tell anyone. The scene sparked my curiosity on who it was exactly in the car and why that person was being held in there, or if they were being held in the at all.
The whole radio lie caused a lot of problems in the movie, and that's why I said above that there were some good lessons to be learned in the movie. One lie sparked another for him, and that got him in deeper into his stories until so many people were asking about the radio that he just couldn't make anything else up and he finally told his friend. Surprisingly enough, the friend took the news very well. In a way, it almost seemed like he was expecting it all along. The movie shows that lying for whatever cause is never a good cause no matter how much you think it may help the situation. The lies turned everyone against him in the end, and they all ended up the same way anyhow unfortunately. Although this wasn't my favorite movie in class so far, I did enjoy watching it, and it kept my attention throughout the story.
I liked this movie, and I think it had good lessons to learn from. I liked Lena's character. She was completely innocent throughout the entire movie, and I felt that she showed not everyone had lost hope during the time. Even at the end, she was excited that they were going away, and she had no clue where. She was just being a kid, and going anywhere is exciting when you are young. Jacob starting telling stories about the Russians and other things he knew about the war. The reality was that he knew nothing more than anyone else. In a way, it did help the people's spirits though. But in the end, everyone was unhappy because their optimism was crushed with the sign that said everyone was to gather together with less than 5 kilos in luggage so they could `go away'.
I think my favorite scene was when the old man thought he heard voices in the freight car. While I was watching the movie, I thought he was crazy and apparently so did everyone else. They all thought he was just hearing things that weren't there. The reality was that there was someone in the car, but they never showed who and a guard shot the old man before he could tell anyone. The scene sparked my curiosity on who it was exactly in the car and why that person was being held in there, or if they were being held in the at all.
The whole radio lie caused a lot of problems in the movie, and that's why I said above that there were some good lessons to be learned in the movie. One lie sparked another for him, and that got him in deeper into his stories until so many people were asking about the radio that he just couldn't make anything else up and he finally told his friend. Surprisingly enough, the friend took the news very well. In a way, it almost seemed like he was expecting it all along. The movie shows that lying for whatever cause is never a good cause no matter how much you think it may help the situation. The lies turned everyone against him in the end, and they all ended up the same way anyhow unfortunately. Although this wasn't my favorite movie in class so far, I did enjoy watching it, and it kept my attention throughout the story.
Exemplary Situations of life in a Jewish Ghetto, during the reign of Hitler's forces were very much present in "Jakob der Lügner". One such occurrence of how the Jews tried to deal with their new realities involved the substitution of thoughts about reality and the invading/controlling Nazi War machine in many of their lives, for other exciting and positive experiences, of which they tried to focus. Jakob tries to focus on such an experience, which occurred in his past, before he was forced to move to the Ghetto. He thinks of his former wife, and the happy times they spent together. Through his invention of the "radio broadcasts", he helps others living in the Ghetto to think of a reality, on which they can believe, due to its similarity with their wishes for their futures and even for their reality under Nazi control to be different than it was in reality.
The role of Jacob is that he is a Jewish man who lives in Poland at the time of the Nazi-rule. He falsely tells a coworker about a radio he owns and he tells him good news about the Russian Army getting closer and closer everyday. This lie spreads quickly thru the Jewish ghetto and immediately all coworkers ask Jacob daily about news. In desperation Jacob makes up good news and spreads them around the ghetto. As the movie moves along it shows violence and prosecution of the Jewish people. At the end of the movie the ghetto including Jacob leave their home town and head in unknown direction. Jacob lied about the radio and spread good news to keep hope and live in his community. He did not reach his goal because his predictions of freedom of Jews never occurred.
Bernandin Mali
Bernandin Mali
This is an interesting film. However, I must say that I was very disappointed at the end. I expected something totally different. First, I thought it would be a comedy. But soon I found out that this was not the case. The film is about Jacob, an old Jewish man. He lies throughout the movie that he has a Radio, just to keep the hopes up of the people around him. Everyday he tells the people around him that the Russians are moving closer and that soon they will be free from the Nazis. As the movie goes on things get more complicated and at the end he decides to tell the truth, but no one believes him. Even though he had good intentions, Jacob did not achieve his objective. All he did is cause more problems in the ghetto.