Foreign Cinema: The Counterfeiters

The Counterfeiters (Advance Screening)
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky
To be released February 22, 2008

A whole lot of Holocaust movies have been made in the sixty-plus years since its occurence and each one's quality often depends on the individualistic personalities of the protagonist. "The Counterfeiters" tells the story of a top-notch counterfeiter hand-picked to supervise the creation of forged money to pay for the Nazis' war efforts. The moral questions that arise here are huge, and nothing is downplayed. The ensemble works well together but it is star Karl Markovics who really carries the film, making an unlikeable character sympathetic yet still keeping him unlikeable. This is an understandly tough film to get through, but certainly a worthwhile one. It is especially interesting to learn more after the film about the director's intentions (Ruzowitzky and Markovics were on hand to answer questions after the screening I attended) and to find out that this movie was entirely successful in every country except for Germany.

B+

Oscar chances: Because three of the films selected in the Best Foreign Film category are not slated for U.S. release anytime soon, I have only seen "Beaufort" from Israel, which I personally liked better, but I assume that this one, with its buzz and subject matter, will walk away with the trophy.