Shariq’s Département

This movie, which was part of the official competition for the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) in 2007, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year, so I was expecting a spectacular film; especially since the Academy chose to not even nominate exceptional films like “4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days”.

However, the movie disappoints because it is so predictable.  The Nazi horrors and despicable treatment of the Jews in concentration camps has been done many times - so to see the same story repeated here is not very new.  The twist is that our protagonist, Salomon, is an exceptional counterfeiter, and so manages to take a team with him to a special ward in the concentration camp where they are given priveliges, such as warm beds, food and the chance to live.

Although this is interesting in the beginning, part of the movie’s problem is that the characters are so black and white.  The Germans are racist brutes, while the Jews are brotherly and form a natural comaraderie, looking out for one another.  Salomon forms a treacly relationship with several prisoners, including a young man who he treats like a son, trying desperately to protect his life.  Yet we never really seem to get inside Salomon’s head - what makes him tick?  I felt an emotional distance through the movie which made it less moving than it should have been.

Honorable and important story, but I wish the screeplay and acting had been more complex and interesting.