World War II pablum concerning a ghetto of Polish Jews.*************************** Jakob the Liar. World War II pablum concerning a ghetto of Polish Jews. One, a potato pancake chef, comes upon an abandoned pre-pubescent girl after curfew and hides her at home. A rumor starts among his friends and fellow mine-workers that he has a radio and that reports say Russians will be saving them from the Germans soon. Of course, the moral conflicts are over whether to falsely lead the hopes of all those in his ghetto, or tell the truth and ruin the high spirits that have been inflated by the amateur raconteur’s unintentional deception. Robin Williams lays on the sentimental feel-good superficiality in an attempt to divert or suck off of the praise and style of Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful. Jakob the Liar lacks the humor, the sentiment and the cathartic emotions of the aforementioned film, rendering Peter Kassovitz’s version tepid and oleaginous. The mannered and flagrant performances are as distinct as the Star of Davids on the costumes, and follow Williams’ pleading pathos accordingly with the exception of Armin Mueller-Stahl and Alan Arkin.
With Liev Schreiber, Hannah Taylor Gordon, Bob Balaban and Michael Jeter.Final Verdict: C-.
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