The Counterfeiters

Viewer Rating:HSP has rated The Counterfeiters rating: 5 Star

Being a fan of true story movies especially anything to do with historical events I got this out & was really looking forward to it. I didn't realise it was subtitled the whole way through but it didn't put me off at all. It's the story of how the Germans tried to destablize the British & US economys by flooding them with fake sterling & dollars during world war 2. It starts off with the main character Solomon thinking back to life before the war, living the high life in casinos & posh hotels. He is an excellent artist & even better forger. Although he is Jewish he is not a practicing one so therefore his only concern is himself. When arrested & jailed for his activities he earns himself little perks such as food etc by painting portraits of German soldiers. As war breaks out he is eventually selected to join a secret group of Jews in a concentration camp who are hand picked to work on the forged money. They are well fed and have clean bedding & clothes. They are separated from other Jews who are not so lucky. Solomon is in charge of quality control & is promised by the Captain that he will survive the war if he can deliver the goods. He immediately sets about the task of getting the right mix to make the proper paper for sterling & eventually after many months of trying they got it right & mass produced it. The fakes were so good even the bank of England accepted them as the genuine article. They were then ordered to work on the dollar but Solomon was told by a fellow Jew, "Burger" that he would sabotage any attempts to get it produced. As the Germans increased the pressure for the dollar they threatened to shoot 5 prisoners if it wasn't delivered in 4 weeks. Solomon is many things but he is not a grass so he tries to work around Burgers antics in order to survive. This is a first class drama showing peoples ability to survive the holocaust while seeing family & friends brutally murdered. Karl Markovics who plays Solomon is brilliant but looks more like a boxer with his crooked nose than a Jewish prisoner. However I found it an excellent movie & well worth a watch.... don't forget it's subtitled!

Review published on the 04 May 2008 22:17