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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
minor holocaust film, October 13, 2000
Filmmakers with the chutzpah to tackle the holocaust always have to tread along some pretty slippery ground. How does one visualize the unimaginable horrors of such an apocalyptic human event without flinching, yet make it all palatable enough to keep the audience from fleeing the theatre? In addition, one must always avoid offending any of the actuals survivors who rightfully bridle at the first sign of softening or sugarcoating. Precious few film have managed to accomplish this feat and transform the experience into works of lasting art. In addition to "Schindler's List," of course, two other successful films come to mind: the 1965 Czech masterpiece, "The Shop on Main Street," and the beautiful 1983 Hungarian film, "The Revolt of Job." One of the reasons these three films succeed is because they all approach the subject from the viewpoint of a gentile outsider who is drawn into the momentous event and whose consequent moral dilemma becomes the audience's own. Through this approach, the audience is put not in the position of a helpless victim, doomed to unimaginable suffering, but of a participant whose actions could stand the chance of affecting a positive outcome on at least a small scale. The result is that each of these films avoids the overwhelming sense of depression and hopelessness that otherwise would accompany this heavy subject matter. "Jakob the Liar," like the recent "Life is Beautiful," plunges us directly into the center of the horror - the Warsaw ghetto in the months right before the Russian invasion of Poland. Robin Williams portrays Jakob, a former restauranteur who, through a series of flukes, manages to convince his fellow captives that he has a hidden radio which continually broadcasts news of the Russians' advance. This results in a temporary renewal of hope and courage as the inhabitants of the ghetto begin a plan of insurrection. Despite obviously noble intentions, "Jacob the Liar," itself a remake of a 1976 Polish film, seems far too artificial in its story and performances to ring true. Although Williams gives a relatively restrained account of himself and keeps the unctiousness of many of his recent film portrayals down to a minimum, he is still recognizable as Robin Williams, replete with the occasional stand-up comedian schtick, such as when he acts out all the voices in an ersatz radio program for the benefit of a little girl who has become his inadvertant ward. All throughout the movie, the writers provide moments of inappropriate mirth and slapstick that rob the subject of the seriousness of its purpose. And, although one sympathizes with the reason for doing so, is it really necessary to provide such an upbeat finale to a supposedly serious holocaust drama? This merely emphasizes the artificiality of the whole enterprise. One hesitates to be too harsh on a film of this nature. Certainly, its makers were driven far more by their love of the subject than the expectation of great boxoffice success - and "Jakob the Liar" is certainly no disgraceful failure for which its makers need be ashamed. It simply misses its mark both as a chronicle of the horrors of the holocaust and as a work of art. To see how that can be done, please check out "The Shop on Main Street," which still stands as quite simply one of the greatest films ever made!
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