Analysis of The Counterfeiters
The film The Counterfeiters is a representation of the psychological fights that humans go through during troubles and tribulations. Set in the holocaust period, the film depicts the dilemma experienced by war prisoners who are tasked with printing dollar and pound notes. The money is to be used to sabotage the economies of those nations. The prisoners who are responsible for the activity are given better treatment than their counterparts. They use the same as a reason to continue staying alive regardless of knowing that their actions imply they are helping the enemy. The central theme portrayed is human decisions. One which can sometimes be not of the best interest to others, but which can be selectively important to given individuals. The prisoners are tasked with the decision to help the enemy or perishing in the concentration camps.
The film has been set in the Second World war period, where the holocaust was put into effect as Germans spread their rule over neighboring countries because of the war environment. The German Nazis were set to get rid of the Jew community. The Jews were viewed as impure, and the Nazis were keen on maintaining the purity of the lineage. The Nazis felt that getting rid of Jews would make Germany stronger. The Jews were blamed for Germany losing in battle in the first World War. During the Second World War, almost 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust period.
The holocaust defined a moment in history where a minority group that was the Jews were discriminated against, and no political action was taken to salvage their situation. Nonetheless, governing states were not in a position to prevent the genocide as the Second World War was in progress. Also, so many had perished by the time it was realized that there were Jewish killings in Europe. According to Straus, “by the time a genocide determination can be made … the violence has already been underway for some time” (357). Hence many were killed, and no interventions were made to salvage the tragedy.
At the beginning of the film, the flashback technique is used. The method effectively serves to remind the audience of the suffering that Salomon went through in the concentration camp before he is moved to the section where the forgery of notes was done. Again, it was a vast difference compared to the life he was living many years after the incident. Monologues by Salomon also serve to understand why he prefers working with the printers than going back to the concentration camps as he also fears for his life. The techniques have been effective in making the situations more natural and secondly as sources of igniting the dilemma into the minds of the audience.
The film is a crucial eye-opener, especially to policymakers. It ignites the thought process that includes working to decide whether an action is morally acceptable or is significant for survival. I would recommend the film to policymakers as they are held to determine the fate of many individuals under their jurisdiction. The film is a daily reminder of the many choices people make every day that decide their lives and how others perceive them