Hulu has recently seen a large influx of free full length movies. This old Robbin Williams movie was my first choice out of them. He plays a Jewish man stuck in a Polish ghetto where he and all the other Juden have become accustomed to scratching out a meager existence. Although they still have their shops and homes, the ghetto is closed to the outside and the people have become destitute and constantly hungry. Suicide is rampant. One day, for being outside after dark, he reports to the commendant's office for routine corporal punishment and overhears a war bulletin on the radio. The Nazi oppressors are losing ground to the Russians, and the front line approaches from only 400 kilometers away.
The approach of the Red Army means impending salvation for the Jews. He tells this story to his friends to cheer them up and eventually the rumor of rescue spreads around the ghetto folk. The suicides stop. The people ask Jakob for more information about the Soviet advance, but he has none, so he makes up stories to give them the hope and drive to keep them living for as long as possible. He uses extravagant stories and humor to...wait a minute isn't this is the same story behind Patch Adams and Good whatever Vietnam and every other fucking Robbie Williams movie? Does Robin Williams ever expand his acting repertoire ever?
Anyway in the end, well, everyone pretty much knows what happens in the end. These historical events are common knowledge. But they say, "It's easier living the lie."
Too depressing for casual viewing.
Rating: 50%
