Die Falscher (The Counterfeiters)

2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar winner, this is an engaging and snappy story of moral difficulty, characters caught between their own self preservation and wider responsibilities.
Set largely in Sauchausen concentration camp, the viewer is essentially asked to create much of the tension themselves through a (rarely sighted) awareness of the terrors that must be taking place just outside the counterfeiters relatively comfortable quarters. It is a film that demands engagement- and all the better for that. It paints the impossible moral picture well by situating characters rather than symbols in the maze; the acting across the board is terrific, especially from our lead.
We are not spared the view of horrors, and 'commonplace' indignities are, if not disspassionately, faithfully shot. The viewer must learn not to make themselves too comfortable.
The plot fizzes along nicely, not a lot of messing around, even if some of the side-stories don't particularly add anything to what is, after all, pretty much a straightforward one issue tale. Though saying that, the Monte Carlo and liberation scenes certainly do add a level to our appreciation of Salomon as more than just a prisoner; it turns into a fascinating study into the forced degredation of man.
All told, a fine movie.