Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters)

The talent in world cinema and the quality of movies that are available is not funny. No wonder we have 2 full fledged channels providing us with an international fare. Not that all of them are good movies but if you like movies and don’t mind going through sub titles, you will find yourself pleased more often than not. And if you have a choice of seeing some random chick flick on one of the other English channels and any international movie playing on UTV World or Lumiere, choose the latter is what I would say. I have to however thank the wonderful world of in flight entertainment for getting an opportunity to watch Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) and specifically Jet Airways. This was the last movie I saw before touch down into Mumbai. I have penciled in a reminder to catch up with as many as possible in the foreign language selection from the Oscars.


It is around the second half of the 1930s. Salomon Sali Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is a forger par excellence. He is an Austrian by birth and no doubt Jewish too – a lethal combination to have around those times. Puts you in the much sought after list without debate. Even more so if you are a criminal like Sali is. Very few can perform the fine art of counterfeiting like Sali can. His understanding of the business is unparalleled. But when the Germans do take over Austria, Sali finds that his days are numbered. Sturmbannführer Friedrich Herzog (Devid Striesow), an SS officer with a sense of humour finally tracks down Sali in a compromising position and proudly arrests “The King of Forgers”. Sali is sent across to the Mauthausen concentration camp in the north of Austria and sentenced to hard labout.

Five years or so go by and as part of a usual movement, a bunch of prisoners including Sali are sent across to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As they are being lined up, Sali finds himself face to face again with his nemesis, Herzog. Sali and another transferee Adolf Burger (August Diehl) are segregated from the rest of the prisoners and taken to a separate section of the camp. They are surprised to see several printing machines in this section and are introduced to Dr. Klinger (August Zirner) who is the Kapo or an inmate responsible for guarding the premises. Welcome to “Project Bernhard” – the German effort to print counterfeit currency, primarily pounds and dollars too and get them into circulation in the respective countries to destabilize the economy – Adolf Hitler’s last strategy to prevent anhillation in the War.

Stefan Ruzowitzky does a fabulous job with the true story of a criminal who fights not only with himself but his fellow inmates to stay alive at a concentration camp by doing what he does best – Forging. He portrays the aspects that each one of the inmates go through. The Kapo who has to ensure that his men are kept alive. Burger, who is a rebel at heart and refuses to support the entire activity because he believes they are helping the Nazis out – which is true – but is it more important to stay alive and make a difference or die trying to make a difference in a concentration camp? The story is weaves the conflicts that go through everyone’s minds including the aspect of guilt that the counterfeiters have for being treated much better than the other inmates. The acting on display is extremely good. Markovics plays the role of the perceivably selfish counterfeiter brilliantly. Very intense. Very compact. No riff raffs. Truly deserved the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2008. Could have made it to the main draw as well. 8 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwr9nCurEEQ