Review of The Counterfeiters (2007) by Rich B — 03 Oct 2008
The Counterfeiters (2007): "He has to respect me, but not lose face. The same as in any other jail." - Salomon.
The Oscar-winning fictionalized film about a Jewish forger (Salomon Sorowitsch), held in the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, who (arrested for forging passports to help pre-war escaping Jews) survived on his artistic skills, leading a mammoth counterfeiting operation designed to undermine the British economy. The story begins when we join a Salomon just after the war, a haunted, albeit wealthy, man. The story is based on Adolf Burger's autobiography.
"One adapts or dies." - Salomon.
Sally Sorowitsch, played by Karl Mrakovics, is terrific. As a criminal with skills, he offers a different perspective on the arbitrary power of the Nazi's and their horrific brutality. It seeps under your skin. And rather than feeling rage at the Nazi's or helplessness for the Jews (which is typical for me in stories about the concentration camps), I felt fear.
"Zelinski... If you betray him, I'll kill you." - Salomon.
Artistically demanding, the language is rich with innuendo, the poses and posture of the actors communicate volumes about the times.
"One has to look after oneself. You know that better than anyone." - Sturmbannfuhrer Friedrich Herzog (to Salomon).
The costumes and sets are excellent. The close-ups are quite personal, although the blending needed to incorporate the handhelds (I'm guessing on this one) caused the panoramic cinematography to appear a bit slow, blurring during distance zooms. It helped to reduce the size of the screen (I watched movies on my laptop using a Gateway HDMI).
This review of The Counterfeiters (2007) was written by Rich B on 03 Oct 2008.
The Counterfeiters has generally received very positive reviews.
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