THE COUNTERFEITERS - NAZI PERIOD REVISITED

Just when it feels like an event of the tragic scope and aftermath of the Holocaust has been as thoroughly mined creatively as one could imagine -- off hand at least 20 films and 30 more novels that heavily reference this milestone of 20th century disaster come to mind -- another film emerges that portrays this dilemma from a new angle. The Counterfeiters eerie strength and power relies not simply for its stark portrayal of holocaust atrocities - but it's unswerving honesty in getting inside the individual personalities, ambitions, and alienations of the protagonist -- a professional counterfeiter, an heir to the alienated Camus' Meersault of the Stranger, a 20th century man lost in meaningless and slowly imbibing death on the installment plan. Surrounding him in the camp which are desperately counterfeiting British and ultimately American currencies are an idealistic Marxist who abhors any attempt they are making to assist the SS even if it is saving their lives and allowing them somewhat less subhuman living conditions, and a doctor who'se well intentioned humanism is belied by his ultimate commitment to savign his own skin. The film also has an eerie resonance with the US current financial crisis where the dollar has never been so low -- suggesting the eternity of the rise and fall of commodities/currencies/empires as the slow, ineluctable wheels of history grind on. This is a film not to be missed.