erik-32757 What a piece of crap, as a Dane i must say, i have never understood Lars Von Trier, and after this - and all the other films he has made, the past 45 years - i never will.

MartinHafer In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg created what is known as the 'Dogma 95 Manifesto'--a series of rules that these and other Danish avant-garde film makers would adhere to the in the future. I mention this because although "Europa" was made by von Trier, the film does not at all adhere to these rules--as the film was made four years before this film movement was deliberately created. Von Trier's use of black & white film (interposed throughout the film with muted color), sets, incidental music, non-hand held camera, the use of a crane for a few shots and setting the film in the past were all techniques he would eschew only four years later. I guess he was just getting it out of his system! The beginning of "Europa" is very, very strange. You hear the voice of Max Von Sydow and he leads the audience in a hypnotic induction--taking you back to the year 1945--just after WWII. And, later, you will once again hear the voice of Von Sydow talking throughout the film like a hypnotherapist--a VERY unusual way to narrate this film.The film plot revolves around an odd and rather non-emotive American, Leopold Kessler. It seems that he was a pacifist during the war and has moved to Germany to work for the railroad. This is odd, I know, but it gets a lot more unusual than that... I would try to explain the story, but frankly it all becomes very surreal and a bit weird. Additionally, while the film is supposed to be about a group of post-war terrorists named 'Werewolves', the film does NOT attempt to provide an actual history lesson or really discuss their actions. My advice is like all surreal films, don't try to understand it or make sense out of why von Trier made it--just absorb it and make of it what you will (or not).My feeling about the film is that I liked it because of its bizarreness and innovative cinematography. Sure, there are a few sloppy portions (such as the dubbing of the Colonel's voice) but what's important is that this film was made in 1991. Using computers to make this sort of project would be pretty easy today--but back in 1991 personal computers were still a bit rare and amazingly underpowered. Yet, von Trier was able to use black & white mixed with occasional splashes of grainy color--a difficult trick in its day. There are also very very beautiful camera shots throughout the film (such as the bombed out church in the snow) which are achieved through superimposing characters into scenes he shot previously. Totally weird, confusing but visually arresting. This is NOT a film for the average person--they probably wouldn't have the patience or would demand a more coherent and traditional plot. But, it's the sort of thing that is worth seeing once--it's that unusual and unique. The style, the narration, the cinematography and the music provide a once in a lifetime sort of experience.If you get the DVD, be sure to see if it has the French documentary "The Making of 'Europa'", as it explains the various very innovative camera tricks that were used. Additionally, just how complicated it all was to make is revealed...and it took two years to make!

gavin6942 Just after World War II, an American takes a railway job in Germany, but finds his position politically sensitive with various people trying to use him.I waited too long to write this review, so I cannot do it justice until a second viewing. But it is a perfect storm of European genius. Max von Sydow narrating, Udo Kier appearing (as he does in many of von Trier's works). And the amalgamation of Europe on a train...What sells this film is the visuals, hands down. Von Trier's mix of black and white and classic color give this quite the dreamlike feel. That, mixed with the Kafkaesque plot, and you are sucked into an imaginary world of real life... perhaps not unlike David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch".

alexx668 Von Trier's last instalment of his European trilogy (also including "The Element Of Crime" and "Epidemic") probably remains his best film.We follow Leopold Kessler, half German and half American, as he returns to Germany after the World War Two. Having fled during the war to avoid an army service, he finds Germany in total disarray, but stays because "by taking a job as a civilian here is a small contribution towards making the world a better place" and "it's time someone showed this country a little kindness". Kessler then is a good-natured man and an idealist who gets trapped in a Kafka-like nightmare, having no control whatsoever on the proceedings, and probably the ultimate victim of the film.With the aid of his uncle, Kessler finds a job on the Zentropa train line, but he soon finds himself involved in an espionage intrigue.Germany is a wretched place. The allies are restructuring the place to their own needs (partly by destroying the infrastructure), while a group of terrorists called Werewolves are sabotaging the allies' plans.As a priest observes during a conversation with Kessler: "god represents the two sides mankind; he easily forgives those who defy him because they believe in something with all their heart, but he never forgives the unfaithful, the careless and indecisive; god condemns those in eternal confusion; if you're neutral you're rejected. Coincidentally Kessler is exactly that.As things get more and more out of control, in the final showdown (when it turns that Kessler's amour Katharina Hartmann is a Werewolf), she admits: "everybody here has been through a war; you can't compare yourself to us, everybody here has killed or betrayed -directly or indirectly- thousands of times, just to survive" and "a werewolf is only a werewolf at nights, during the days it's a human creature".But all this wouldn't aspire to much if it wasn't for Von Trier's direction. Basically a post-modernist expressionist thriller, but also with lots of black humour, Von Trier builds on the experiments of "The Element Of Crime" and "Medea". Not only is this an inspired blend of colour and B&W, but also a fascinating collage of powerful images, including some which belong in the pantheon of cinema (like the one when Kessler sees Katharina, while held captive in a car by a Werewolf).Occasionally the works of Fritz Lang and Hitchcock come to mind, but Von Trier uses humanist drama to promote his philosophical views. That is the difference with his latter films, say, Manderlay. Here Von trier uses cinema's arsenal as the ultimate vehicle to build timeless myths and fairy-tales.The ending even adds a spiritual twist, with Kessler seemingly eternally trapped in the vortex of Europa (even though dead), while all the film was narrated by a god-like figure.