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Great sets and costumes from the '20s, wonderful tender story about a young Jewish boy in Canada and his old-world Grandpa and more modern parents, and some really good acting--except from the one actor who needed to deliver an awesome performance. Jeff Lynas, the kid playing the central character, David, is so bad he brings down the whole production. He can't seem to offer any emotion at all when he speaks; he's monotonally reading his lines as he delivers them. Just hellaciously, frighteningly bad acting. I gave this a 6 because everything else was so good, particularly the sets and Len Birman's performance as David's pie-in-the-sky up-to-date father, but it'd take an act of God for me to sit through anything else Lynas is in.

It's easy to see why people say they hate Canadian movies when you see a film like Lies My Father Told Me. This goes back to the infancy of Canadian cinema, and there's been a huge improvement in Canadian film over the last two decades. It's actually not a bad film; the problem is, Lies My Father Told Me is not for every taste. No Indiana Jones, the family drama about Montreal Jews will turn away most of the audience. And, the audience that stays will notice the flaws and end up divided too.

Lies My Father Told Me starts off promisingly; it looks like an interesting coming-of-age story, though by the end when we realize the climactic battle is over moving a stable, the feeling of dullness sets in. Even before then, the performances are sorely lacking, particularly in the boy who can only shout out excitedly, the father who can't rage right, and the young prostitute ("Kiss my Royal Canadian ***!") The grandfather's song about the Messiah coming is excruciating and feels out of place (By this point of time, we weren't excepting a musical, and the end credit song is nails on a chalkboard as well). For the Montreal Jew story in 1970s cinema, it's no wonder critics preferred The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

Lies My Father Told Me.... I may have renamed it Stories My Grandfather Told Me, is a wondrous, delightful movie because it has the simple elegance to state exactly the world as seen through a child's eyes. A child's recognition of what counts in life.....and yet in a few hilarious moments, a child's innocence at repeating grownups' sharp criticism in exactly the way it was meant without the social detours meant for adults. But it is the little boy's feeling for his grandfather and a wise grandfather who in his quiet way... just stays and stays with you.

Back in the 1970s, I played this movie at the Main Street Theatre, Flushing NY; which I was managing at the time. It did exceptional business in this predominantly jewish neighborhood, it also did well at other locations in the city. I loved it.

An embarrassing mundane script with laughably stock stereotypes and the worst child acting ever. This kid was BAD - like sub grade school play, being fed lines from off-stage bad. Hard pass. Do yourself a favor and go watch The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz if you want a Montréal Jewish redux. Far superior film and source material. Another review said the best actor in this abomination was the horse - I concur.

Some comments have pointed out that this is a movie that takes the child's POV. Well, that's true, but many films have done that and the tale they've told is sad (Ponette) or even harrowing (À ma soeur!). What this film captures is the divine reality that children and some adults are in contact with. It also relates the many other parts of a boy's role in a struggling Jewish Canadian family of the 20's, and does that quite well.

However, the mystery at the heart of life, the divine connection, that's what this film depicts best.

Alas, it's never been released in ANY consumer format! Who do we talk to about this injustice!

Thoroughly agree with the previous reviewer. Indeed, Jeffrey Lynas' acting was so awful that I was exultant when his dad gave him a whuppin and outraged when Saintly Grandpa stopped it. And when you find yourself out of sympathy with the film's hero and identifying with the antagionist then it's time to pull the plug, which I did shortly thereafter. C minus.

I will bring tears to your eyes. It reminds me of my own Zaida, whom I love so much. I love the way it portrays the Hebrew way of life in 1920's Montreal. Suberb acting and directing. I want to see it again and again and again.

Based on the life of Ted Allan, this film tells the childhood stories of a six-year old Jewish boy living in a poor neighbourhood in 1920s Montreal . David (the boy) has a special bond with his maternal grandfather (who lives with his family) but not so with his parents.

This film is a gem in so many ways. The neighbourhood of the family has a great oddity of characters who would be right at home in a Federico Fellini film with their various bonds and conflicts.

Jeffrey Lynas is perfect as David who carries the weight of the movie. His conversations with a female friend the same age (Cleo Paskal) and with his grandfather (supberbly played by Yossi Yadin) are the best moments.

The story also shows a contrast between the grandfather's basic spiritual values vs. Those of the parents (especially the father) who are materialistic. This makes the film relevant for our current times - or any time for that matter.

Mixing moments both hilarious and moving with nostalgia, viewing this film was a grand experience.- dbamateurcritic

Rating: 9 out of 10

Award-worthy Achievements:

1) Screenplay by Ted Allan

2) Performances of Jeffrey Lynas and Yossi Yadin.

Ted Allen wrote a wonderful short story, about 4 pages long, called "Lies My Father Told Me" which was short on plot but very evocative of the Jewish ghetto in Montreal in the 1920s. It reminisced about a young boy who accompanied his grandfather on a horse-drawn cart collecting rags and bottles.

This is the third attempt to fill out the story into a film. Allen wrote the screenplay, which was nominated for an Oscar. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1960 film, which I haven't seen.

Pretty much everything that can go wrong with a film has happened here. The story is melodramatic and predictable. The characters are one-dimensional caricatures rather than human beings. The main character, a young boy, is so tousle-haired and gap-toothed and sweet that you want to kick him. His father is a total loser (or "schlemiel") who keeps thinking up get-rich-quick schemes, and wastes his money on the races. The mother is noble, loving, self-sacrificing, etc. The boy's wise old grandfather (the other main character) has a gruff exterior but a twinkle in his eye. You expect the characters to break into song at any minute. The only believable character in this film is the horse!

The acting is way over-the-top, the actors striking poses like in a silent film, rather than acting like people.

Most of the film takes place in an obvious stage set of Montreal's slum. There are a few nice exterior glimpses of the real Montreal.

The whole thing is sentimental and mawkish and embarrassing.

Ted Allen's potent autobiographical memoirs of his childhood and growing up with close ties to his Grandfather - has been lovingly brought to the screen through the diligent efforts of producer Harry Gulkin. Gulkin, along with others who saw the value and potential of this profound relationship worked diligently over years to bring this story to the screen. Jeffrey Lynas, the amazing lad who carries his difficult role as if it's unfolding before the cameras earns his Award nomination fully. It's a credit to the artistry of Award winning Czechoslovakian director Jan Kadar (the shop on Main Street '65) who has infused such identifiable life experience into the already powerful, Oscar nominated script - the viewer can't help but identify with so much of the richly unfolding emotions.

Believable harsh locations and others of a grand natural beauty give the audience a contrast that helps to express the difficulty of living poor, and the longing for something better. Natural performances carry us through all the everyday difficulties of growing up in a close community - highlighting the diverse issues and human challenges that exist with such environments. Once black banned composer Sol Kaplan, creates a sensitive musical soundscape complete with a thoughtful song catching the essence of the story.

There's much to be admired by lovers of quality cinema and especially those with keenly observed memories of growing up in a diverse, multi-generational household. Marvellous character actor Yossi Yadin (Fiddler on the Roof) portrays the lads kindly and 'unorthodox'/orthodox, junk collector Grandfather with a strong warm performance. The intro and final scenes will find a place in your memory forever.

I'm not sure how it was that, in 1975, Ted Allen's "Lies My Father Told Me" was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (it lost to "Dog Day Afternoon.") It's confusing not only because the film isn't very good, but because the story is adapted from a 4 page short story which itself was made into a film in 1960. Doesn't that make it "adapted" by any stretch of the imagination??

In any event, the goings on here are very precious, the language arc and staid, the wandering narrative Jew-centric but not made universal in the way that is intended.

Part of the problem is that much of the film has been looped in post production, draining it of any spontaneity. The acting is uniformly over the top, the music cartoonist, all but one bit of music superfluous. The kid who stars was actually nominated for a Golden Globe Award, but then so was Pia Zadora once. The grandfather is played nicely and genuinely, but Zero Modtel was originally cast and one simply can't help but wonder how the film would've benefited from his commanding stature as an actor.

One stands dumbfounded at how something so obviously well-intentioned went so terribly wrong. Especially after having the benefit of previous incarnations.

As Jewish cinema, the brilliant "Hester Street" or the harrowing "The Hiding Place" (also both 1975) fare far better.