The Counterfeiters

What I enjoy about foreign films is usually based on how different they are from our domestic product. Films that are made not only in a language other than English, but also in a context other than the American worldview, are a completely refreshing window into the larger world. From that point of view, The Counterfeiters is a bit of a disappointment. Other than language, this Austrian film could have been made on a Hollywood sound set - with production values, writing, and acting that is definitely on a par with anything made in the US. And, sadly, this is the film that beat out Pan's Labyrinth for the best foreign language film of 2007.

The film is based loosely on on the memoirs of Adolf Burger and his participation in Operation Bernhard - the Nazi plan to destabilize the Allied war effort by flooding the UK and US economies with counterfeited cash. Life in the special barracks at Sachsenhausen is luxurious for a concentration camp, but the hand picked specialists are still prisoners - stripped of their families and their dignity. The story centers around Burger (August Diehl) with his deep seated desire to resist the Nazis in every possible way and Sorowitz (Karl Markovics) who pragmatically simply want to survive.

As a film about the horrors of the Holocaust, this is pretty mild stuff - our protagonists are subtly removed from the worst of it. It's an interesting story anyway - particularly regarding the CO Herzog, who believes in a very unNazi way that you can get more flies with honey than vinegar. As I mentioned, the production values are superb, and the acting is top notch. But I'm afraid to say that I didn't feel I got anything more out of the experience than a history lesson. Just Ok. See the website here, (artsy and none too easy to navigate.)