Lars von Trier-Europa (1991)

An alluring film that follows Leopald Kessler (Jean-Mark Barr), an American pacifist of German descent as he travels to Germany to help the country rebuild and becomes involved in a surreal nightmare. His uncle gets him employment working on the giant railway complex Zentropa where he falls in love with the daughter of the railway owner, Katherina (Barbara Sukowa) who lures him into becoming a pawn in a pro-Nazi terrorist scheme. Despite his wishes he finds he cannot remain neutral and is forced into making some difficult choices. Tartan




Lars Von Trier's stylish thriller features hypnotic narration by the legendary Max von Sydow, and employs a series of ingenious technical tricks, using rear projection, as well as cutting between color and black-and-white, in order to give the film a dazzling visual presentation that will beg for further viewings. Tartan




An American of German descent arrives in post-war Germany 1945. His uncle gets him a job on the Zentropa train line as a sleeping car conductor. The American's wish is to be neutral to the ongoing purges of loyalists by the Allied forces and do what he can to help a hurting country, but he finds himself being used by both the Americans and the influential family that owns the railroad. After falling in love with the railroad magnate's daughter, he finds that he can't remain neutral and must make some difficult choices. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0101829/plotsummary)




Praised as one of the top films of the year, ZENTROPA is an erotic, passionate thriller delivering nonstop, suspense-filled excitement. In this Hitchcock-like tale, Leo Kessler, an American visiting devastated postwar Germany, gets seduced by a beautiful woman and suddenly finds himself caught in a never-ending web of mystery and intrigue. Leo's nightmarish journey takes him through a hypnotizing maze of romance, passion, and betrayal – leading to acts of terrorism, and finally, murder. With its many plot twists and heart-stopping surprises, this riveting, seductive thriller is sure to entertain from beginning to end.. (amazon.com)




Europa is an hallucinatory Danish film set in postwar Germany. Jean-Marc Barr plays a young German who aspires for a job as a street conductor. But this is no mere "Joe Job;" Barr's adventures on the line are designed as a metaphor for the emergence of the "New Europe" following the war.




Barbara Sukowa costars as the daughter of a railroad magnate–and possible Nazi sympathizer. Many of the special-effects sequences are computer enhanced, but even the "live" scenes have an unsettling, surreal quality to them (colors changing abruptly, backgrounds shifting without warning, etc.) This experimental film left some viewers confused, which may be why English-language prints of Zentropa are narrated by Max Von Sydow. – Opening with a hypnotizing image of rolling train tracks and a somber voice-over by Max Von Sydow, ZENTROPA unfolds calculatedly and ambiguously.




Von Trier employs a series of ingenious technical tricks, using rear projection as well as cutting between color and black and white, in order to give his film a dazzling visual presentation. The result is a mysterious thriller that will beg for a second viewing once the final credits have rolled. (amazon.com)