It’s hard to muster much sympathy for the victims of the elaborate fraud detailed in this intriguing film. The backdrop is the market for fine wines, a world populated by cash-flashing playboys who think nothing of dropping tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a bottle of rare vintage wine. Into this scene came a young man called Rudy Kurniawan – a young Chinese Indonesian of seemingly limitless wealth and great personal charm. But Rudy had a Gatsby-like quality. He wasn’t what he seemed. And, it turned out, he was using his exceptional palate to create counterfeit wines, suckering in the collectors he had befriended to the tune of more than $30m. It’s an extraordinary story, but although the crime and its fallout are rigorously dissected, Kurniawan remains a frustratingly elusive character throughout.
