16/03/2008
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 98 minutes
The Counterfeiters follows the true story of the Nazis’ attempt to flood the British and American economy with fake money during World War 2. It was one of the biggest counterfeit operations of all time - over 130 million pounds worth of fake currency was printed. This was carried out by POWs in Nazi concentration camps which is where the film is based.
Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is a master counterfeiter, living the playboy lifestyle in pre-war Berlin, until he is captured and shipped to a concentration camp. Sally uses his artistic skills to convince the German guards he is indispensable which leads to him being transferred to a covert POW camp where prisoners have to counterfeit money for the Nazis. Sally is given the head role and is put in position where he has to tread very carefully if he is to save the lives of those around him.
The moral dilemma at the heart of The Counterfeiters is whether Sally and the prisoners should continue to work for the Nazis, saving their own lives, or refuse to work and face certain death. This makes for an incredibly gripping and moving drama, as the audience is kept on its toes at every turn. The performances are uniformly brilliant and the intimate focus on the one concentration camp makes it a much more personal experience than most war films. The Counterfeiters deserves to be regarded with the same respect as Saving Private Ryan and is a must see for anybody with even a passing interest in WW2, or indeed, counterfeiting.
Rating: 9 out of 10
The Counterfeiters is released on DVD in the UK on 16th March, 2008
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
