Europa (1991)

Not to be confused with the previous year's Europa Europa, this film went by Zentropa (the name of a fictitious railroad company) in the U.S. Director Lars von Trier must have been arrogant even back then, because he flipped off the Palme d'Or judges for not awarding it. Still, it is far more popular today than the winner, Wild at Heart. I decided to see why.

Leopold (Jean-Marc Barr), a young American of German descent, decides to show some mercy to Germany in the months after World War II by taking a job there as a sleeping car conductor for Zentropa, where his uncle (Ernst-Hugo Järegård) works. From the train windows, he sees that the nation is hardly in peacetime as the U.S. military clashes with the "Werewolf" resistance. It turns out that the inside of a train isn't much better for neutrality, as friendly folks, including a love interest (Barbara Sukowa), seek to involve him in their sordid plans with or without his knowledge or consent.

Don't think for a moment that this story can be easily divided into good guys and bad guys. American forces, with Col. Harris (Eddie Constantine) as their face, actually help some confirmed war criminals escape justice. One character notes how many Nazi-run factories had American owners. Leo grows disenchanted with everybody in light of their sins, and he himself turns quite dark in response.

Indeed, that was the main reason it took me a while to decide how to feel about this movie. When a mostly ordinary protagonist ends up doing something not just misanthropic but horrible in the end, are we supposed to think he did the right thing? My guess is no, because research tells me that the entire Europa trilogy (with The Element of Crime and Epidemic) features tragic heroes injudiciously making their pet peeve even worse.

Still, we're clearly supposed to identify with Leo, because Max von Sydow narrates in the second person. Yeah, that's one of the most interesting elements herein. The only other movie I can think of like that is the film noir Blast of Silence, but here it feels more natural, because von Sydow speaks as a hypnotist, essentially forcing the audience into the role of Leo. It's actually rather soothing to listen to, when he doesn't focus on a negative event.

The other artsy innovation that I noticed is that the picture is mostly black and white but occasionally veers into full or partial color. I never did find a pattern to when that happens. It's not when Leo finds things "getting real." Sometimes it's obvious that a B&W background is separate footage, as if the characters were meant to be standing in front of a big-screen TV. I'm not sure whether von Trier had any meaning to this in mind, and it's not easy for me to find an in-depth, knowing discussion.

With all my uncertainty, I still tentatively give Europa high marks. Its cinematography is distinctive, and it affected my mood strongly, particularly with chills. I'll skip the rest of the trilogy, tho.