The Counterfeiters (R, 2008)

Bleak, absorbing, and subtly convoluted, THE COUNTERFEITERS is based on the true story of master forger Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics), who was forced to oversee a counterfeiting program for the Germans in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. A flashback shows that his pre-capture attitude toward the Nazis was cavalier, that he was a selfish, ambitious, and very skilled criminal. But once he's imprisoned, he finds himself looking after fellow prisoners who are more vulnerable than he is (including one who's more idealistic and another who's deathly ill), as well as conniving to thwart the Nazis' plans, particularly their scheme to flood the British and American economies with fake money.

Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky's movie tells a terrible but strangely enthralling story, focused on the moral evolution of Solly, the counterfeiter. His complexities -- his desires, fears, and inclination to cheat -- are shrewdly visible in Markovics' remarkable performance. In part, this complexity is achieved by his comparison with other prisoners: former activist (anti-Nazi) printer Adolf Burger (August Diehl) and sensitive Russian art student Kolya (Sebastian Urzendowsky). Equally mesmerizing is Solly's relationship with camp commandant Friedrich Herzog (David Striesow), who at times seems to think of himself as Solly's "friend" -- or at least a colleague in their illegal enterprise -- while also enforcing his power in vile displays of sadism.

The film is also beautifully shot and structured. Rather than taking a more conventional approach -- slow, long takes and somber stationary framing -- the difficult emotional and moral situations of The Counterfeiters are conveyed with a handheld camera and a variety of images: tight shots of shadowed faces, or distant observation of the lonely, bent-over forms of men in dire straits. Such careful, nuanced aesthetic choices reflect the perpetual shifting of Solly's mind as he strives first to protect himself from the Nazis, then to outwit them, and at last to face them ... and resist becoming a monster himself. Though he's surely broken by the experience, he also finds a resolve and capacity for ethical assessment.

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Cast: August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Karl Markovics
Genre: Drama
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: February 22, 2008
DVD release: August 4, 2008
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: some strong violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language.