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Jakob the Liar

1999 · 120 min

A somber, tender Holocaust drama that strains for bittersweet hope, moving but uneven, with a star turn carrying heavy sorrow.

Directed by
Peter Kassovitz
Genres
Comedy, Drama, History
Tagline
When all hope was lost, he invented it.
Overview
In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto.

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Directed by
Peter Kassovitz
Genres
Comedy, Drama, History
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • survival
  • grief
  • isolation
  • deception
  • family
Places
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror3
Humour4
Realism7
Romance1
Tension5
Darkness7
Complexity5
Emotional weight8

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Cast

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Details

Genres
comedy, drama, history
Directed by
Peter Kassovitz
Written by
Didier Decoin, Peter Kassovitz
Starring
Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Alan Arkin, Michael Jeter, Bob Balaban, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Éva Igó
Music
Edward Shearmur
Cinematography
Elemér Ragályi
Runtime
120 min
Country
France, Hungary, United States of America, Germany
Languages
English

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