Regie:
Stefan RuzowitzkyScenario:
Stefan RuzowitzkyCamera:
Benedict NeuenfelsMuziek:
Marius RuhlandActeurs:
Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach, August Zirner, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Andreas Schmidt, Tilo Prückner, Veit Stübner (meer)Samenvattingen(1)
Berlijn 1936. Sorowitsch is de koning der valsemunters. In zijn wereld van misdadigers, gigolo's en lichtekooien is het leven niet meer dan een spel... en het geld dat hij daarvoor nodig heeft, drukt hij gewoon zelf. Op een dag wordt hij verraden. Hij wordt opgepakt door commissaris Herzog en naar het concentratiekamp van Mauthausen gedeporteerd. Daar komt het er op neer om zijn eigen vel te redden tegen elke prijs. Sorowitsch vreest het ergste wanneer hij in 1944 naar Sachsenhausen wordt overgebracht. Maar het leven biedt hem een laatste kans. Bij aankomst wordt hij opgewacht door niemand minder dan commissaris Herzog die er een geheime missie leidt. Sorowitsch en een groepje zorgvuldig uitgezochte professionals moeten een heel pak buitenlands geld vervalsen. Het doel van deze operatie is om de economie van de geallieerden te ondermijnen. Dit stelt hen voor een ondraaglijk moreel dilemma. Plots gaat het niet meer om overleven maar om geweten. (Cinemien)
(meer)Video's (3)
Recensie (4)
The Counterfeiters is an interestingly conceived drama without unambiguously pure heroes, set against the background of accordion music, the likes of which we rarely get to hear in films set in concentration camps. The quality filmmaking and well-directed actors are a good fit for the attractive subject matter, which alone makes this film a must-see.
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This is not an exceptional World War II film, specifically the concentration camps, but it is a very good film set in concentration camps. The Germans and Austrians handled the subject with sensitivity and authenticity, even though they are digging into their own past a bit. But they do it well and they remind us of a very interesting Nazi initiative.
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The Counterfeiters is an unconventional story from the concentration camps, which does not point (like many other similar films) to the mass murder of Jews in the gas chambers, and that is what makes this film special. We are offered a glimpse of a counterfeiting workshop located in the very heart of the evil snares of Nazi Germany, and we follow the developing psychology of the diverse characters. What is actually bad and what is good? And why not actually do something bad for its own sake? In short, a film that made me think (for the umpteenth time) about the sheer senselessness of World War II thanks to its rawness, great actors and music.
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Many films about the Holocaust and the world of concentration camps during World War II have already been made, including big-budget, visually stunning horror shows, and audiences are already sufficiently satiated by such sights. Coming up with something new is difficult, but Stefan Ruzowitzky succeeded. If anything can be criticized about The Counterfeiters, it is the small, typically European budget that does not allow for any grandly filmed crowd scenes, panoramic shots, or visual orgies. It is a small film that relies on a strong story, interestingly outlined characters, quality acting, and, last but not least, the fact that it is based on a true event, and the creators faithfully stuck to reality. The story of a group of prisoners who produced counterfeit money at a Nazi extermination camp in strict isolation and maximum secrecy offers plenty of absurd moments, such as the class differences between a professional criminal and a banker who meet in the same cell to carry out a shared task of devaluing currency. An excellent move was not making the main protagonist an idealistic political prisoner, but a cynical member of the underworld trained to survive in extreme conditions, who has a very unique sense of honor. A strange psychological battle for survival and the most dignified reconciliation with their role in working for the Nazis unfolds between the counterfeiter Sorwitsch, the young communist sabotaging production, and the SS officer supervising the counterfeit workshop. Overall impression: 90%.
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