Jakob the Liar

Harrowing, poignant, deeply human and the only East-German movie to ever be nominated for an Academy Award: JAKOB THE LIAR (original title: JAKOB DER LÜGNER) from 1974 is based upon the novel of the same name by Jurek Becker. Czech actor Vlastimil Brodsky gives an unforgettable performance as Jakob Heym, a middle-aged man who lives in a Jewish ghetto in German-occupied Poland and who comes up with a lie in order to give other residents hope that liberation isn’t far away…

Jakob is the central figure in this devastating saga, which is punctuated with flashbacks from the time before he and fellow ghetto dwellers were ‘incarcerated’ by the Nazis and inhuman living conditions were forced upon them. One of these conditions, or rules, rather, is a strict 8pm curfew and anyone caught outside on the streets after that time will be shot. As it so happens, one evening Jakob is still on the street after eight, as he doesn’t wear a watch and is promptly spotted by a Nazi in a watchtower, who orders Jakob to go to the nearest police station (which is a stone’s throw from where he is standing), report to the officer and ensure that he receives the appropriate punishment. Luckily for Jakob, the German police officer in question is in a good mood and, unbelievably, lets him off the hook! While Jakob makes his way out of the station, he happens to hear a radio broadcast suggesting that the Russian Red Army is approaching.

The next day, when Jakob and other men are ‘working’ (call it forced labour) near a railway site and under strict observation by the Nazis, one of Jakob’s friends is about to commit suicide. Looking on helplessly, Jakob suddenly tells him of the Red Army approaching and thus they all will be liberated soon. At first, said friend doesn’t believe Jakob on the grounds that a German police officer let him go instead of ordering his execution but when Jakob realises that his friend abandoned his suicidal plans upon hearing the news, Jakob continues with his lies by claiming that he didn’t hear the newsflash in the police station but via an illegal radio in his own ramshackle abode. Illegal because any Jewish person caught in the possession of a radio will also be shot on the spot.

Of course, rumours spread fast and now Jakob feels obliged to continue with his daily bulletins (make that lies) as he realises that his fellow ghetto residents suddenly live in hope as opposed to living in fear. Among Jakob’s best friends are former hairdresser Kowalski (Erwin Geschonneck) and his little adopted daughter Lina (Manuela Simon), whose parents mysteriously vanished though Jakob knows where to…
Then there are young lovers Mischa (Henry Hübchen) and Rosa Frankfurter (Blanche Kommerell) who plan on getting married. Rosa’s mother and father (Zsuzsa Gordon and Dezsö Garas respectively) are strictly against any wedding plans because of the precarious situation in the ghetto, which can change any day and not necessarily for the better. The entire situation gets worse when there’s no power for some time and thus Jakob can’t listen to his non-existent radio, lying that it is currently broken. When Kowalski organises for factory worker Najdorf (Klaus Brasch), a former electric engineer, to take a look at the radio to see what can do, Jakob lies some more by pretending that just the previous night, he managed to fix it himself.

As he and his colleagues continue working by the railway side, one of the workers claims to have heard human voices from inside one of the carriages. Jakob, his friend Kowalski, Mischa and another colleague, Roman Schtamm (Armin Mueller-Stahl) sense what this possibly means but nobody dares to speak about the unthinkable. Meanwhile, little Lina, who has just recovered from a fever, has a key to get into Jakob’s rooms and searches for the radio, only to find an old oil lamp instead. When Jakob arrives and sees her disappointed face, he promises her that she is allowed to listen to a radio broadcast but the radio is hidden in a secret spot behind a thin and half collapsed wall which separates the rooms. In turn, Lina must promise not to take a peep behind the wall and thus Jakob proceeds with inventing and performing a fake broadcast, namely an interview with Winston Churchill, by means of pots, pans and a little loudspeaker which distorts voices. Lina, fascinated, seems blissfully unaware of the fact that Churchills speaks in German… After the broadcast, Jakob continues to entertain her by telling her fairytales, including the tale of the sick Princess who asked for clouds from the sky to stuff her pillow. This tale is depicted as a fantasy tale, with Lina lying in a royal bed and Mischa as the Prince, who hands her a huge cloud made of cotton…

As more and more residents ask Jakob about the latest news bulletin as they all want to know how close the Red Army has advanced and whether liberation might happen soon, Jakob realises that he cannot continue to lie for much longer and confides in Kowalski, who, to Jakob’s surprise, isn’t angry but replies that he understands as to why Jakob has been telling lies and invented fake bulletins coming from a radio which never existed to begin with. The next day, Kowalski takes his own life but the real horror is about to unfold…
The film’s final scene is beyond heart-breaking and will stay with you for some time (or you’re not human) while at the same time, it’s powerful and doesn’t need any words.

The performances, with Vlastimil Brodsky at the helm, are thoroughly compelling and both cinematography and the ghetto make everything even more believable - one really gets a sense of the desperation, fear and squalor which residents in Jewish ghettos endured. Forget about the 1999 remake with Robin Williams, this is the real deal!

JAKOB THE LIAR has just been released on Blu-ray and in a strictly Limited Edition (2,000 copies) O-card slipcase with collector’s booklet. Additional Bonus features include audio options, the video essay ‘Jurek and Jakob’ and an DEFA Studios documentary from 1958 on Anne Frank.