A great story with a great conundrum at its heart.
A world-class forger, Jewish in 1938 Germany, Solomon, Sally for short, is imprisoned in a concentration camp. After a time of starvation and desperate conditions, his skills are recognized and he is sent to lead a team of fellow prisoners in the quest to forge the British pound and then the US dollar. By the time they get to perfecting the dollar, they have worked out that Germany is bankrupt and perhaps this is the turning point of the war.
Sally, on the right, masterfully played by Karl Markovics, believes firmly that you must take care of yourself and no one else. A traumatic incident is alluded to, presumably his family were killed in Russia. But his coworker Burger, left, played by August Diehl, and the character whose autobiography the film is based upon, is a communist and attempts to delay the printing of the dollar, putting his life and others at risk, hoping to protest or attack the Nazis.
This is not the Pianist. It is not the greatest story ever told. But it is an interesting one and it is affecting and tense. It's got moments of absurdity. The characters are interesting. It's funny sometimes. It's filmed extremely well and the acting is superb. It's bookended with an interesting story set after the war, which I usually feel is cheating because then you know atleast some characters survive, but in this case the bookending story actually adds to the film and is a compelling short piece in itself.
I'm still pondering what I would do in their situation. Do I hold to my ideals and protest, getting myself and others killed, or do I try to survive at all costs, hoping that then I will win out in the end.
Totally watch this film. It's not as good as The Lives of Others, as far as new German cinema goes, but it's a great movie.
