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7TH JAN 2009
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 Student Review: The Counterfeiters in cinemas now. Reviewed by Matt Arnoldi.
Admirers of The Lives of Others will be pleased to hear there’s another film in the offing that you’ll admire just as much. This one takes place during the Second World War and has been written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky (Tempo, The Inheritors).
It’s a holocaust drama, the true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, an expert counterfeiter arrested and sent to a concentration camp. To ensure he survives, Salomon shows a talent for drawing by sketching flattering portraits of officers in charge. From there, Salomon gets sent to another camp where his counterfeiting talents are put to the use of serving the German war effort, producing fake currency and documents along with other talented prisoners with printing skills. The option, the firing squad or the chance to live in relative comfort, yards away from other prisoners being decimated by the awful conditions.
Its an extraordinary story. Sorowitsch is well played by Karl Markovics, he’s got a weather-beaten face that of a survivor, the sort who would have the know-how to keep out of harms’ way and use nouse to keep him alive. There’s also an element of humour which may seem surprising in such a harrowing study but its merely because you get to read Sorowitsch’s character so quickly, and get an idea of what he may be thinking and the choices he must make.
The scenes are authentic – painfully so, including a scene where a young man enters a shower and feels certain they are about to be gassed, only to watch almost incredulously as the water begins to flow. It’s a heartfelt moment.
The film neatly reveals the dilemma faced by the prisoners, between wanting to produce money to keep themselves alive but also needing to find devious ways to hinder the German war effort. There’s also a fascinating moral dilemma between prisoners who were former bank managers and others who are former villains as if that counts for anything when they’re supposed to be on the same side.
It would have been interesting if the director had followed the ending of the story a little further – he doesn’t deviate markedly from what happened, but it would have been interesting if the wider populace could have known how this true story ended. Facts over the end credits or just a continuation of the story would have been rewarding. The ending as given is good enough though, and this is still a remarkable story deftly handled by Stefan Ruzowitsky.
Matt Arnoldi
Provided by The Student Zone (United Kingdom) |
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