dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
writ. Stefan Ruzowitzky, Adolf Burger (book)
feat. Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow
Last year's winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film spins a new Holocaust tale, tracking a professional counterfeiter from his initial arrest to finally landing in a concentration camp where the Nazis are attempting to reproduce passable British pounds and American dollars. The film takes its time in transporting Salomon Sorowitsch (Markovics) to the concentration camp, illustrating his keen skill in handling himself amidst criminals and captors, artfully keeping himself better fed and cared for than the average prisoner.
At the camp, he takes to the job with his usual professional enthusiasm, finding the challenge of the complicated notes engaging and any success sure to improve his lot at the hands of the Nazis. There he meets opposition in Adolf Burger (Diehl) who catches on that they are funding the war effort and wishes no part of it. While this conflict invites complicated questions about duty and survival during wartime, Burger's character is one-note, always screaming for justice and trembling with good intentions. Thankfully, Markovics is our lead, showing great depth and magnetism, playing Sally like an honorable criminal, protecting all of his fellow inmates, even Burger when he risks the lives of the entire company.
The film suffers for Burger's simplicity, possibly a problem in the source material (Burger's book), but Markovics' performance is compelling enough to make it worth watching. And a wraparound story showing Markovics in Monte Carlo adds a wistful touch of romance that serves as a poignant, touching contrast to the horrors of the war.
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