Europa (1991 film)

For the 1931 Surrealist anti-Fascist film, see Europa (1931 film).

Not to be confused with Europa Europa.

Europa
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lars von Trier
Written by	Lars von Trier Niels Vørsel
Produced by	Peter Aalbæk Jensen Bo Christensen
Starring	Jean-Marc Barr Barbara Sukowa Udo Kier Ernst-Hugo Järegård
Narrated by	Max von Sydow
Cinematography	Henning Bendtsen Edward Kłosiński Jean-Paul Meurisse
Edited by	Hervé Schneid
Music by	Joachim Holbek
Production companies	Det Danske Filminstitut Svenska Filminstitutet Eurimages UGC
Distributed by	Nordisk Film Biografdistribution (Denmark; through Constantin-Fox-Nordisk) Svenska Filminstitutet (Sweden) UGC Distribution (France) NEF Filmverleih (Germany)
Release dates	12 May 1991 (1991-05-12) (Cannes) 22 June 1991 (1991-06-22) (Germany) 16 August 1991 (1991-08-16) (Denmark) 13 November 1991 (1991-11-13) (France) 25 November 1991 (1991-11-25) (Sweden)
Running time	114 minutes
Countries	Denmark Sweden France Germany
Languages	English German
Budget	DKK 28 million (US$4 million)
Box office	$1 million

Europa (known as Zentropa in North America) is a 1991 experimental psychological drama period film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier. The film is an international co-production between Denmark and five other European countries, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film, and the third and final installment in his Europa trilogy, following The Element of Crime (1984) and Epidemic (1987).

The film features an international ensemble cast, including Germans Barbara Sukowa and Udo Kier, expatriate American Eddie Constantine, and Swedes Max von Sydow and Ernst-Hugo Järegård. This was German-born French-American Jean-Marc Barr's first collaboration of a series of films with von Trier.

Europa was influenced by Franz Kafka's Amerika, and the title was chosen "as an echo" of that novel. The music, including the main theme, was composed by von Trier's ex-brother-in-law and frequent collaborator Joachim Holbek, who also composed Riget (1991-2022) and Manderlay (2005).

Plot

Set in the mid-1940s, whereas US-occupied Germany after the end of World War II, the entire population is under close surveillance. In this turbulent time, in an atmosphere saturated with fear and violence, the main events of the life of two completely different, but very close people unfold. A narrator (Max von Sydow) announces to the viewer that he will soon be waking up in Europe. The voice counts to ten and proclaims, "when you have counted to ten inwardly, you will be in Europe".

A young American with German descent, Leopold Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr), comes to Germany and gets a job as a train conductor of the railway company Zentropa with his uncle (Ernst-Hugo Järegård). Leopold only sees Germany from the perspective of moving trains, train stations or dormitories. As he tries unsuccessfully to conform to society's rules, he witnesses the country's inner turmoil and the aftermath of its recent past.

Before that, he falls in love with a young German woman, Katharina (Barbara Sukowa), the younger sister of Lawrence Hartmann (Udo Kier) and daughter of the Zentropa's founder Max Hartmann (Jørgen Reenberg), who secretly associated with a group of underground Nazi terrorist conspiracy Werwolf. She invites him to dinner at her half-bombed family mansion. With the help of a false testimony from a Jewish American (Lars von Trier), who claims he was the lifesaver, Max Hartmann receives a clean bill of health and is rehabilitated, later commits suicide out of shame. Later, Leopold marries Katharina in the cathedral, but shortly thereafter she disappears without a trace.

One day, Werwolf group demands Leopold by giving several explosives that he blow up the train. Leopold makes the necessary preparations as ordered, but then discover Katharina, demands the same to him. He tries to tell an American officer about the bomb, but circumstances prevent him from doing so. At this time, Leopold's superiors are trying to test his professional suitability. In desperation, he plants the bomb and sets the clockwork. However, pity for the people makes Leopold turn off the explosives.

In the meantime, the occupation authorities uncover the Werwolf cell. Leopold sees Katharina in handcuffs. She convinces him that it was he who made her mistake, because there are no innocent people in Germany, since during the war years its citizens either killed or betrayed. Leopold is driven to despair, he pulled the emergency brake to prevent them from leaving Germany, but they refused, he reluctantly decides to detonate it left from the room. As a result, one of the train explodes on the bridge as intended, crashes into the river and eventually killed several people including his uncle and Katharina in a train while the others survived from the train, but Leopold did not make it in time, result of being drowned in the sunken train, floated out into the sea.

It is later revealed the narrator appears, approaching the freedom to Leopold from the image of Europa.

Cast

• Jean-Marc Barr as Leopold Kessler, a train conductor of Zentropa
• Barbara Sukowa as Katharina Hartmann, a femme fatale and superior of Werwolf
• Udo Kier as Lawrence Hartmann, Katharina's older brother
• Ernst-Hugo Järegård as Uncle Kessler
• Henning Jensen as Siggy
• Erik Mørk as Pater
• Eddie Constantine as Colonel Harris
• Jørgen Reenberg as Max Hartmann
• Benny Poulsen as Steleman
• Erno Müller as Heifer
• Michael Phillip Simpson as Robins
• Holger Perfort as Mr. Ravenstein
• Anne Werner Thomsen as Mrs. Ravenstein
• Lars von Trier as Jew
• Baard Owe as Man with papers
• Leif Magnusson as Doctor Magnus

Style

Screenshot illustrating the film's use of black and white images mixed with colour, and of characters interacting with back projections.

Europa employs an experimental style of cinema, combining largely black and white visuals with occasional intrusions of colour (which later inspired Steven Spielberg's 1993 Holocaust film Schindler's List), having actors interact with rear-projected footage, and layering different images over one another to surreal effect. The voice-over narration uses an unconventional second-person narrative imitative of a hypnotist.

The film's characters, music, dialogue, and plot are self-consciously melodramatic and ironically imitative of film noir conventions.

Morando Morandini writes: "More than the characters, what counts is the technical-formalistic apparatus: color contrasted with black and white, superimpositions, distorting lenses, dynamic camera, expressionistic-style set designs. Anti-German in substance, it is profoundly German in form".

Production

The film was shot throughout Poland (Chojna Cathedral (Marienkirche) and the Chojna Roundhouse) and in Denmark (Nordisk Film studios, Copenhagen and the Copenhagen Dansk Hydraulisk Institut). The cathedral where the main characters are getting married is that of Chojna, whose roof was destroyed by the Soviet army during the war.

Von Trier's production company, Zentropa Entertainments, is named after the sinister railway network featured in this film, which is in turn named after the real-life train company Mitropa.

Reception

Europa was released as Zentropa in North America to avoid confusion with Europa Europa (1990).

Critical reception

The film received largely positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% score based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

The Lexicon of International Film gave a positive review: "A straightforwardly told mixture of thriller and melodrama, which is based on the classic role models of the genres, but goes beyond the given limits due to its unusual visual creative will. At the same time, an attempt is made to use film as a means of mass suggestion. Worth seeing because of the optically sophisticated form".

Accolades

The film won three awards at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival (Best Artistic Contribution, Jury Prize, and Technical Grand Prize). Upon realizing that he had not won the Palme d'Or, von Trier gave the judges the finger and stormed out of the venue.

Home media

The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD in 2008. The package contained several documentaries on the film and an audio commentary by von Trier.

External links

• Europa at IMDb
• Europa in the Danish Film Database
• Europa at the TCM Movie Database
• Europa at Box Office Mojo
• Europa at Rotten Tomatoes
• Europa: Night Train an essay by Howard Hampton at the Criterion Collection