Europa (Zentropa)

Stars: Jean Marc Barr (The Big Blue, Hope & Glory), Barbara Sukowa (Berlin Alexanderplatz, The Sicilian). Like his visually engaging, but little seen, 1984 thriller The Elements of Crime, director Lars Von Trier's latest is another stylish, yet narratively murky, film. Inspired by the camerawork in the films of Hitchcock and Welles, in particular, Zentropa is set in 1945 Germany, where German-American Leopold Kessler (Jean Marc Barr) has come to work with his uncle as a sleeping car conductor for the Zentropa railroad line. Owned by the wealthy Hartmann family, the railroad life suits Kessler well until he becomes involved with Katharina Hartmann. When he discovers that Katharina is a "Werewolf," or member of a pro-Nazi terrorist group, Kessler must decide between his ethical convictions and his heart. As it turns out, this test comes at the exact same moment Kessler is being tested for a promotion at his job, leading to bizarrely comic results. The story, such as it is, is not the main attraction here (in fact, some will feel ripped off by the shocker ending which clearly violates point of view); rather Zentropa is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of startling camera angles, abrupt changes from black & white to color and back again, and marvelous shots in which color and b&w are mixed. Audience: If the above sounds like the kind of movie that would appeal mainly to an interior decorator, there's just enough story here to also make it interesting to fans of foreign films, and all cinema buffs, automatically. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Mar. 17, 2009—Criterion, 2 discs, 107 min., in English & German w/English subtitles, R, $39.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1991's Europa (Zentropa) sports a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras on this double-disc set include audio commentary by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen, the 1991 featurette “Trier's Element,” which includes interview, behind-the-scenes, premiere, and press conference footage (44 min.), “A Conversation with Lars von Trier” (44 min.), a vintage 1991 “making-of” documentary (39 min.), a 2005 “Anecdotes from Europa” featurette (20 min.) with interviews of film historian Peter Schepelern, costar Jean-Marc Barr, and prop master Peter Grant (among others), 17 minutes of “Lars von Trier Anecdotes,” a 14-minute “From Dryer to Von Trier” interview with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen, “The Emotional Music Script” with composer Joachim Holbek (12 min.), the 2005 short film “Europa: The Faecal Location” by assistant director Tomas Gislason (10 min.), and a booklet with an essay by critic Howard Hampton. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid foreign film.]