Die Fälscher (2007)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writers:

Adolf Burger (book)
Stefan Ruzowitzky (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 March 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | War

Tagline:

It takes a clever man to make money, it takes a genius to stay alive

Plot:

The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Counterfeiter | Currency | Concentration Camp | Mauthausen

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Karl Markovics	...	Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch
August Diehl	...	Adolf Burger
Devid Striesow	...	Sturmbannführer Friedrich Herzog
Martin Brambach	...	Hauptscharführer Holst
August Zirner	...	Dr. Klinger
Veit Stübner	...	Atze
Sebastian Urzendowsky	...	Kolya Karloff
Andreas Schmidt	...	Zilinski
Tilo Prückner	...	Dr. Viktor Hahn
Lenn Kudrjawizki	...	Loszek
Norman Stoffregen	...	Abramovic
Bernd Raucamp	...	KZ-Insasse Dusche
Gode Benedix	...	1. KZ-Insasse
Oliver Kanter	...	2. KZ-Insasse
Dirk Prinz	...	SS-Wache

Also Known As:

The Counterfeiters (Canada: English title) (UK) (USA) (new title)
Der Fälscher (Austria) (working title)
The Counterfeiter (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Austria | Germany

Language:

German | Russian | English | Hebrew

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Argentina:16 | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:Unrated | Czech Republic:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Germany:12 | Australia:MA | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R13

Filming Locations:

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Company:

Magnolia Filmproduktion

Trivia:

First Austrian film to win an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film Category.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Solly and Burger are arguing in their sleeping quarters, Burger pulls down a bunk bed. In the next shot the bed is standing up.

Quotes:

Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch: Ich bin ich. Die anderen sind die anderen.
[I'm myself. Everyone else is everyone else]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Harrowing yet Mesmerizing Survivor's Tale

It was clear from the first few minutes of the film that the protagonist (Solly) survived his death camp experience. The scene is the immediate aftermath of WWII and Solly checks into a casino hotel in Monte Carlo, along with a suitcase of US Currency. After a brief encounter with a woman he picked up in the casino, the scene flashes back to pre WWII in Berlin, where Solly is a successful counterfeiter, eagerly sought after for his skills in forging identity documents for Jews seeking to flee Nazi Germany.

Solly is also Jewish, but feels he is clever enough to elude the coming storm. Eventually he is betrayed by a rival and ends up in a concentration camp. However, his counterfeiting skills help him escape the gas chambers. The Nazis plan is to undermine US & British currency through a massive counterfeiting project & Solly (among other fellow Jewish concentration camp inmates) is recruited to lead the effort.

The moral dilemma of the Jewish prisoner's ability to survive by helping the murderers of their fellow Jews weighs heavily with Solly and his associates. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the dynamics of the issue, from the different perspectives, namely the prisoners who want to survive by actively participating in the counterfeiting project, and those who would rather die by sabotaging it.

As the leader of the counterfeiters, Solly needs to walk a fine line between following his own instincts to survive, and respecting the imperatives of those who want to sabotage the project, ensuring the death of the entire group.

There are many films that touch on the narrative of the holocaust victim compromising one's own moral outlook in order to survive. "The Pianist" & "Fateless" are two recent critically acclaimed films that explored this territory. I would rate "The Counterfeiter" superior to both of these excellent films.

This was an outstanding film, and I recommend it highly.