Review of The Counterfeiters (2007) by Chris W — 24 Jul 2010

A very well-told prison camp movie about something that everybody knows about (the Holocaust) but featuring two subjects not everyone knows about (the counterfeiting operations of the Nazis and how tough some of the Jews actually were).

This film is by all means not a tough film or an action film. It is a heavy drama that explores the human character and the decisions made to save one's own life yet possibly betraying humanity in the process.

The story is about Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch, a counterfeit artist who is both wanted and a Jew. After being caught in his den by a German anti-fraud unit, he is sent to Mauthausen concentration camp, where his artistic hand is noticed and he finds himself whoring out his talents for food and proper treatment. By the time 1944 rolls around he is sent to another camp to participate in a top-secret operation, the fraudulent reproduction of the British Pound. Teamed up with a handful of other artists and cons, he oversees Operation Bernhard. However, while working, he does realize that he is further helping the Nazis win the war by trying to save his own life, which brings about a question of loyalty on his part. Lucky for him, a fellow communist inmate causes some problems that he must face.

Really well acted. Karl Markovics brings a rawer performance to his role, a character never really seen in Holocaust films. He is not aiming to escape, but he demands respect. And he pretty much gets it, even though certain guards and even inmates completely despise him. The burning question that is asked throughout the film is "Will they kill us after we are through? Or will we be respected?" with all outcomes pointing to the former, Sally knows what must be done, but can he swindle the guards into buying mroe time for him and his friends.

Among the supporting roles is a powerful and tough emotional role on the part of August Diehl (that annoying Gestapo officer from Inglourious Basterds) whose ideological beliefs separate him from the pack of counterfeiters. He does not want to further help the Nazis and resents the fact that the Jews in Operation Bernhard are being treated better than the rest of the Jewish prisoners, but he has a veracity to survive in order to find his wife, a Jewess who has been shipped off to Treblinka. He is the most tragic character in the film, yet contains the most reasonable and goal-oriented approach to the whole story.

Really well told, good pace, and fine acting as well as a really interesting plot, as well as showing how even the greediest of Nazis could even sweet talk their prisoners in order to gain their own glory. Great film.