The Counterfeiters
(Die Falscher)
28th November 2008
Germany 2006.
Cert.15. 98mins.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky.
Starring: Karl Marcovics, August Diehl, David Striesow.
SPONSOR: The Lincoln Academy
Salomon Sorowitsch is a classically trained artist who, in 1930's Berlin, earns a very
good living as an expert counterfeiter. His champagne life style comes to an
abrupt end, however, when he is arrested and eventually sent to Sachsenhausen
concentration camp. There, along with other Jewish prisoners with the requisite
skills, he is set to work on 'Operation Bernhard', a Nazi plan to forge British
and U.S. bank notes on such a scale as to flood those countries' economies to
devastating effect. This select group, granted privileges that other prisoners
do not enjoy, soon has to face up to a considerable moral dilemma - that of
collaboration and self preservation versus the danger of sabotage. Best Foreign
Language Film, Oscars 2008.
AWARDS
Oscar 2007 - Best Foreign Language Film
German Film Awards 2007 - Best Supporting Actor: David Striesow
"A sharp and compelling war drama that delivers on the promise of its astonishing true-life origins."
Dan Jolion, Empire.
Full Review