After reading the reviews on IMDb I decided to go to see the movie.
This is a 1936 true story about a counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) who after stints in counterfeiting German currency before World War II is arrested and made prisoner in the concentration camp, where he observes the bloody, uneasy tortures and humiliations of fellow prisoners; until he finds a way to showcase his talent to step outside the prison to draw portraits and pictures of German Commanders and Officers. He is soon promoted by Germans to a position of counterfeiting the dollars in the famous Project Bernhard. The trials and tribulations of Salomon's time in the prison are alarming and sad to watch. The movie ends by showing Salomon as a free man, who lots of counterfeit money that he recklessly spends in casinos and poker games. For him after living a life in concentration camp he knows what value the money has! The movie solely belongs to Karl Markovics, who has acted magnificently as the counterfeiter. He adds his own style of projecting range of traumatic emotions and thoughts by just a twitch of his eye or lips. Fantastic performance! There are usual characters in the movie that support the protagonist the fellow prisoners, the brutal officer, the paternal figure leader of prisoners, a prisoner doctor, etc.
The Austrian Director Stephan Ruzowitzky maintains a tight narration very close to the script he has written. He also creates the brutal Nazi concentration camp feel the clichéd Nazi characters and starved prisoners.
Some scenes are too stark and hard hitting that move your heart and make you cry.
My only complain (but a minor one) is the hand held camera used that sometimes distracts us from the serious gravity of steady scene.
On the whole a good movie.
(Stars 7 out of 10)
This is a 1936 true story about a counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) who after stints in counterfeiting German currency before World War II is arrested and made prisoner in the concentration camp, where he observes the bloody, uneasy tortures and humiliations of fellow prisoners; until he finds a way to showcase his talent to step outside the prison to draw portraits and pictures of German Commanders and Officers. He is soon promoted by Germans to a position of counterfeiting the dollars in the famous Project Bernhard. The trials and tribulations of Salomon's time in the prison are alarming and sad to watch. The movie ends by showing Salomon as a free man, who lots of counterfeit money that he recklessly spends in casinos and poker games. For him after living a life in concentration camp he knows what value the money has! The movie solely belongs to Karl Markovics, who has acted magnificently as the counterfeiter. He adds his own style of projecting range of traumatic emotions and thoughts by just a twitch of his eye or lips. Fantastic performance! There are usual characters in the movie that support the protagonist the fellow prisoners, the brutal officer, the paternal figure leader of prisoners, a prisoner doctor, etc.
The Austrian Director Stephan Ruzowitzky maintains a tight narration very close to the script he has written. He also creates the brutal Nazi concentration camp feel the clichéd Nazi characters and starved prisoners.
Some scenes are too stark and hard hitting that move your heart and make you cry.
My only complain (but a minor one) is the hand held camera used that sometimes distracts us from the serious gravity of steady scene.
On the whole a good movie.
(Stars 7 out of 10)