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  Film: Nell Schofield previews Iron Man and The Counterfeiters May 4, 2008 Reporter :Nell Schofield  VIDEO: Watch the review of Iron ManFilm: Nell Schofield previews Iron Man and The Counterfeiters What makes a superhero? Well, in the popular world of Marvel Comics, it's usually some kind of supernatural power, as in the case of Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. But there's one character who created his own special heroic qualities and that’s Iron Man. The original comic book character of Tony Stark was created by Stan Lee back in 1963. For this new updated model, he’s become a billionaire playboy weapons manufacturer who gets injured and captured by insurgents while showing off his latest technology in Afghanistan. In order to draw lethal shrapnel away from his heart he wears a great big electro-magnet on his chest. And it’s this weakness that seems to make him particularly appealing to women Gwyneth Paltrow is in her element as Tony's dedicated personal assistant Pepper Potts, maintaining a perfect balance of professionalism and sexual tension. Terrence Howard is also engaging as U.S. Air Force commander Rhodey. And Jeff Bridges lends a suitably menacing tone to the proceedings with his character Obadiah Stane. Robert Downey Junior, perfectly cast there as Tony Stark AKA Iron Man or, as he points out in the film, Gold Titanium Alloy Man. This is a really entertaining film, striking just the right note of fantasy and reality. And juxtaposing scenes like Tony in a gritty Afghani cave prison with him on his private jet surrounded by pole dancing air hostesses makes for some punchy humour too. It’s a lot of fun watching his karma catch up with him, transforming him from the most famous mass murderer in the U.S. to a peacenik with a heart, albeit one constantly in jeopardy. And conscience is also at the core of a new Austrian film about the biggest counterfeit operation of all time. The Counterfeiters relates the story of Salomon Sorowitch, a Russian Jewish artist and master forger who is arrested by the Nazis and set to work heading up a counterfeiting racket designed to flood and destroy the British economy. Despite the challenges of pulling off such a highly specialised task in a concentration camp, Sorowitch and his team finally triumph and are rewarded with a ping pong table and ultimately spared the gas chamber. But one of them, Adolph Burger remains unconvinced. Adolph Burger is now in his nineties and the film is based on his book ‘The Devil’s Workshop: The Counterfeit Money Workshop of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp’. Barracks 18 and 19 of this camp were known as The Golden Cage where the forgers were privileged with music, food and relatively comfortable beds. They still received ritual abuse by the Nazis but the fact remains that their comrades were being tortured and killed just on the other side of the gate. The Counterfeiters explores this dilemma through the lens of a hand-held camera that focuses in on some intense performances by Karl Markovics, August Diehl and Devid Striesow in particular. Written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, it scooped the Best Foreign Language Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. It's heavy going stuff but it does make you wonder about the nature of compliancy in such situations. Adapt or die. Or, even better, sabotage. |
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