"The Counterfeiters" has characters who have to answer tough questions.
They are Jews who have been set aside in a Nazi concentration camp for their skill in forging currency.
The Germans are looking to create enough false pounds and dollars to sink the economies of Britain and the United States.
Because of their usefulness to the Nazi scheme, they are given much better accommodations than their comrades in the rest of the camp.
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Salomon, the main character, struggles with the guilt of being treated better ("better" is relative , he still gets urinated on by a Nazi despite his stature) than others.
The warring sides of him are represented by one of the counterfeiters (Burger) who wants to sabotage the Nazis' efforts and Herzog, the officer in charge of the forgery project ("Project Bernhard"), who advises a look out for number one mentality.
Is following directives from your captors in order to survive a fault or simply realistic? What do Jews who escape the brutality of the camps owe to those who have suffered so greatly?
It is satisfying to see the film not answer those questions, leaving them to be answered by the viewer: What would you do in Salomon's place?
The acting is solid all around.
While the Nazis shown are brutal and callous, Herzog stands out as a practical man more concerned with status than ideals. It is his relationship with Salomon that is most interesting.
"The Counterfeiters" could be called a grimmer version of "Schindler's List."
It is now available on DVD
Murphy can be reached at [email protected]
