I wasn't sure wheter to watch this film or not. Based on a pretty low score (6.2) I wasn't expecting a masterpiece of a film, but early on I got a feeling that people might have misunderstood the movie. To be fair the storyline is a bit messy and sometimes you are shown senes with conversations or action that could have been left out of the film. As the film continues to develop you get a slight feeling that these random and messy scenes might actually add to the understanding and personality of the main character. It is a bit like watching The Talented Mr Ripley or Catch Me If You Can, but in a more confusing way. While watching this film it is hard to figure out what the essence and message is, but it all becomes very clear towards the end. It really is watching the film as it plays and understanding the film when it is done. All in all I think this is a great film worth a watch if you're not uncomfortable with being confused. I do think it is easier to understand if you are familiar with german history under ww2 (sometimes I was left wondering based of a lack of knowledge about german war history).

"Der Passfälscher" portrays the everyday horror of Nazi-occupied Berlin on a personal intimate level. A chamber play without bombastic abominations and the well known anonymous brutality. Maggie Pere's film is related to a German cultural canon as Margarethe von Trotta's "Die bleierne Zeit". It doesn't get much better than this.

"Der Passfälscher" is unique in many ways, to me. Like the use of "Heil Hitler". As an assurance or a feeler. Or the almost perpetually smiling Cioma Schönhaus. And the stressed fear of going out. Which also becomes a necessity for a filmmaker with a minimal budget. Also the depiction of a society where your life is plundered of every possession if you happen to be of the wrong kind.

I will watch this film many times.

No pun intended - I can only imagine what it must have felt like to have been alive and living (well barely, at least trying the best one could), during the time the movie plays. The right wing taking over Germany, was not overnight ... as others have already shown (documentaries or reading about it), you can see this was a process ... and one with a catastrophic result for all involved. Some more, some less affected by it of course.

So we get a few people here who try their best to fight and survive that time. And while that may sound harrowing, there are also life affirming scenes and scenes that contain "fun" ... life is not bleak all the time. And you have to find the small things that can make you happy ... or hold on to your (dear) life and continue with it as good as possible. Whether you want to fake things (not just your smile, talking IDs here) to help you ... just remember not to compare the time back then with any current climate that is not even close to fit it ...