What it’s about
Brought to Frankfurt from the U.S. by his uncle in October 1945, pacifist Leopold Kessler (Barr) takes a job working as a sleeping-car conductor for the Zentropa Railway Company, where he happens upon a nightmarish intrigue involving Nazi sympathizers. Kessler is determined not to get involved, but a disturbing revelation about his sultry new girlfriend, Katharina (Sukowa), forces him into action.
Why we love it
Narrated by Max Von Sydow, Lars von Trier’s early surrealistic political thriller looks and feels every bit as distinctive as a David Lynch period film. Combining some unusually effective special effects with vivid black-and-white and color cinematography, von Trier’s work is a bizarre and twisty post-war mystery that, despite fine turns by Udo Kier and Eddie Constantine as an American colonel, dazzles mostly on an optical level. Equal parts Kafka and Hitchcock, “Europa” is a night train you don’t want to miss.
Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Ernst-Hugo Jregrd, Max von Sydow, Erik Mrk, Jrgen Reenberg, Henning Jensen, Eddie Constantine Lars von Trier
