History Film / JakobTheLiar

* AnachronismStew: [[spoiler:The Soviets]] at the end of the film are using postwar T-55 tanks [[spoiler:when they liberate the Jewish prisoners on the train]]. A more appropriate choice for the time period would be the T-34-85.

* DefiantToTheEnd: Both [[spoiler: Jakob and Kirschbaum]] die refusing to help the Nazi's.

* RemakeCameo: Armin Mueller-Stahl starred in the 1975 German film, and here appears playing a different character.

It tells the tale of Jakob Heym (Williams), a Jewish shopkeeper in the ghettos during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. When he's caught out late one night, Jakob is sent to the Kommandant for being smart with the guard. While there, he hears news of advancing Russian troops. On the way back he finds a girl who managed to escape from a transport train, and begins to look after her. From there he finds himself risking life, limb, and more than a few lies as he tries to keep the spirits of his friends up, and give them the courage to face the next day in hope that the Russians will free them from Nazi occupation.

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: Kowalsky]] dies before [[spoiler: Jakob]] in the movie, meaning that he's dead no matter which ending is true, but in the book, he only suffers this fate in the unhappy ending.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The Commandant of the Ghetto has a potentially fatal heart condition and the only man around who could help him (Dr. Kirschbaum) is obviously disinclined to do so.

* ParentalSubstitute: Jakob slowly becomes father figure to a young girl he's hinge who escaped from one of the trains.

* MomentKiller: Its heavily implied that the main reason Jakob wants' shot in the commandants office was because the duty officer had brought a girl over and knew she would be turned off him shooting someone (or having him shot) in front of her.

* CoolOldGuy: Dr. Kirschbaum, a cardiologist who provides medical treatment to the ghetto, and generally serves as the voice of reason between the over-worried and the over-eager.

* MomentKiller: Its heavily implied that the main reason Jakob wants' shot in the commandants office was because the duty offie had brought a girl over and knew she would be turned off him shooting someone (or having him shot) in front of her.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Twice in a row. Jakob is horrified when one of his friends is killed by the Germans for trying to tell prisoners in a cattle car passing through the news about the Russians. This causes him to admit to another man that he's lying about the radio, only for that man to die from despair, leaving Jakob unsure which option is the right one anymore.

''Jakob the Liar'' tells the tale of Jakob Heym, a Jewish shopkeeper in the ghettos during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. When he's caught out late one night, Jakob is sent to the Kommandant for being smart with the guard. While there, he hears news of advancing Russian troops. On the way back he finds a girl who managed to escape from a transport train, and begins to look after her. From there he finds himself risking life, limb, and more than a few lies as he tries to keep the spirits of his friends up, and give them the courage to face the next day in hope that the Russians will free them from Nazi occupation.

The story first appeared as a 1969 novel by Jurek Becker, who originally intended it as a screenplay; appropriately, it's been [[TheFilmOfTheBook filmed]] twice. The first movie was an East German-Czechoslovakian film from 1975. The second adaptation was a 1999 film starring Creator/RobinWilliams, which became [[AdaptationDisplacement the best known version of the story]].

%%* DefiantToTheEnd

* HopeBringer: A [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]]. Jakob's status as the HopeBringer is based on a massive lie, and if the Germans learn of it, all the Jews could suffer for it.
* InterruptedSuicide: Jakob walks in just in time to keep Kowalski from hanging himself.
* RayOfHopeEnding: The alternate ending after Jakob is shot:

%%* ConsummateLiar

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Jakob ultimately dies to give his friends hope.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: The HeroicSacrifice through Jakob's death in the 1999 version; when you consider that Creator/RobinWilliams committed suicide in 2014, it may feel like even more of a tearjerker when watching it today...

* HarsherInHindsight: The HeroicSacrifice of Jakob's death in the 1999 version, when you consider that Creator/RobinWilliams committed suicide in 2014...

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jakob_the_liar_1954.jpg]]

->''"Hitler goes to a fortune-teller and asks, 'When will I die?' And the fortune-teller replies, 'On a Jewish holiday.' Hitler then asks, 'How do you know that?' And she replies, 'Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday."''

* BittersweetEnding[=/=]DownerEnding: Depending on your interpretation, [[spoiler: The Russians arrive to save the Jews at the end, but it could very well just be another lie from Jakob, who is also the narrator.]]

----

* ConsummateLiar
* DefiantToTheEnd
* HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler: Jakob ultimately dies to give his friends hope.]]

* InterruptedSuicide Jakob walks in just in time to keep Kowalski from hanging himself.
* UsefulNotes/NaziGermany
* SadisticChoice

->'''Jakob Heym:''' Hitler goes to a fortune-teller and asks, "When will I die?" And the fortune-teller replies, "On a Jewish holiday." Hitler then asks, "How do you know that?" And she replies, "Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday."

Starring Creator/RobinWilliams, Jakob the Liar tells the tale of a Jewish shopkeeper in the ghettos during WWII. When he's caught out late one night, Jakob is sent to the Kommandant for being smart with the guard. While there, he hears news of advancing Russian troops. On the way back he finds a girl who managed to escape from a transport train, and begins to look after her. From there he finds himself risking life, limb, and more than a few lies as he tries to keep the spirits of his friends up, and give them the courage to face the next day in hope that the Russians will free them from Nazi occupation.

!!This movie provides examples of:

* BitterSweetEnding / DownerEnding: Depending on your interpretation, [[spoiler: The Russians arrive to save the Jews at the end, but it could very well just be another lie from Jakob, who is also the narrator.]]

* NaziGermany

Starring Robin Wiliams, Jakob the Liar tells the tale of a Jewish shopkeeper in the ghettos during WWII. When he's caught out late one night, Jakob is sent to the Kommandant for being smart with the guard. While there, he hears news of advancing Russian troops. On the way back he finds a girl who managed to escape from a transport train, and begins to look after her. From there he finds himself risking life, limb, and more than a few lies as he tries to keep the spirits of his friends up, and give them the courage to face the next day in hope that the Russians will free them from Nazi occupation.

* [[spoiler: DefiantToTheEnd]]

* HopeBringer: A [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]]. Jakob's status as the HopeBringer is based on a massive lie, and if the Germans learn of it, all the Jews could

* BitterSweetEnding
* HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler: Jakob ultimately dies to give his friends their lives.]]

Starring Robin Wiliams, Jakob the Liar tells the tale of a Jewish shopkeeper in the ghettos of [[NaziGermany]]. When he's caught out late one night, Jakob is sent to the Kommandant for being smart with the guard. While there, he hears news of advancing Russian troops. On the way back he finds a girl who managed to escape from a transport train, and begins to look after her. From there he finds himself risking life, limb, and more than a few lies as he tries to keep the spirits of his friends up, and give them the courage to face the next day in hope that the Russians will free them from Nazi occupation.