Synopsis: Poland, 1944. Jakob lives in Jewish ghetto and, after he hears some war news on a German radio, people start believing he owns a radio; this causes a great uproar in the ghetto and complications for Jakob.
Appraisal: This is based on a 1969 novel by Jurek Becker, previously filmed in 1975. It is an interesting story about the revolutionary power of mass communication, and the ethical quandary opposing truth vs. pragmatic lies. It can be thought of as complementary to such works as Moonlighting (1982) and Depuis qu'Otar est parti... (2003); while in those films the news are used as an 'official' vehicle for the appeasement of the 'people', here news are an instrument for the oppressed. The film has a beautiful cinematography, which gives a good sense of the ghetto ambiance. The average level of the acting, however, is far from good, and the fact that the dialogue is spoken in English with an artificial accent makes comprehension difficult at times.
Rating: 53
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