The Money Maker

Based on a true story about the man dubbed the “Cézanne of counterfeit money,” The Money Maker meticulously recreates the decade-plus battle of wits between an ace forger and the French police force. On one side there’s Polish immigrant Jan Bojarski (Reda Kateb), who escaped to France during World War II and, unable to find financial backing for his numerous inventions, turned to meticulously counterfeiting paper currency. Representing the law is the relentless André Mattei (Bastien Bouillon, also the lead in this year’s Rendez-Vous selection At Work), whose vow to find the forger gradually takes on the dimensions of an epic quest. While taking a clear look at the prevailing xenophobia that Bojarski encountered, The Money Maker is also a pleasurably lush, gorgeous reconstruction of France during and after World War II.