"A" Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

This year's winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, "The Counterfeiters," is a searing, moving drama that largely takes place in various concentration camps during World War II. Karl Markovics plays a Jewish counterfeiter at the beginning of the war who arrogantly believes that he can stay in Berlin and continue to profit from his criminal activities despite the obvious Nazi crackdown on Germany's Jewish population. Following his arrest on simple criminal charges by an eager police detective (August Diehl), he finds himself in a concentration camp awaiting all but certain disaster.

Dedicated to no one but himself, he exploits his talents as an artist to paint flattering portraits of Nazi officials and their families. Nonetheless, with his luck running out, he is fortuitously rescued from the death camp by the same Mr. Diehl who has now become a high-ranking Nazi official.

Mr. Markovics finds himself put to work in a secret counterfeiting unit located within one of the concentration camps. As the leader of a team of inmates with various printing skills, he is handed the task of assisting the Nazi war effort by mastering the process of making counterfeit British pounds and American dollars.

While the counterfeiting crew is given amenities that make life livable, they never are allowed to escape the reality of living in a death camp. Evidence of the Nazi slaughter surrounds them, and the moment when one of Mr. Markovics' young companions discovers pictures from Auschwitz of his dead wife and children is as emotionally devastating as it is memorable.

The inherent strength of "The Counterfeiters" lies with the simple inner drive of every human being to survive. However, how far would you go to survive if the results were to help the Nazi war machine create bogus currency that could destroy the economies of England and the United States? Mr. Markovics and his companions are called upon to make that decision, and this struggle forms the basis of one of the most powerful human dramas you will ever witness in a theater.

But for some of you this movie will take a toll that may be all but too much to psychologically bear. As I left the theater, I bumped into a Jewish friend and his wife. I asked him, "What did you think?" He could simply shake his head and say something to the effect, "It was overwhelming."

On the other hand, I looked at his wife, and I was struck by the fact that she could not reply at all. Her face ashened and numb, she looked at me with a blank stare that left me stunned. In consolation, all I could think of to say as I walked away was, "Take care."

As I reflect on her reaction, I revisited the scenes in the concentration camp where Jews were not just killed, but brutally and sadistically beaten and abused. No punches are pulled in these scenes, particularly one where a brutish Nazi guard walks into a bathroom stall as Mr. Markovics is on his hands and knees cleaning it.

Clearly, this story must be told and remembered. It is equally clear that the cinema is an appropriate place to not only entertain, but to educate. However, for some the intense personal nature of this horrid chapter in human history will be too much to endure. It is to them that this film should be dedicated.