Europa [Zentropa] *** (1991, Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Eddie Constantine) – Classic Movie Review 4669

Cult name director Lars von Trier’s interesting but dodgy 1991 art-movie, with some imaginative work in the pop-video-style visuals by von Trier and his three cinematographers (Henning Bendtsen, Edward Klosinski, Jean-Paul Meurisse) compensating for muddled exposition, an alienating narrative and a lack of obvious sense of purpose.

Jean-Marc Barr makes a personable hero as Leopold Kessler, an endangered American of German descent employed by the German railways on the Zentropa train line as a sleeping car conductor, a little after World War Two. Barbara Sukowa is also fine as Katharina Hartmann, the daughter of the tycoon Lawrence Hartmann (Udo Kier) in league with pro-Nazis, and old Eddie Constantine is a welcome presence as US colonel Alex Harris.

A mix of paranoia thriller and anti-Nazi debate, it is pretty hard going, though intriguing.

Also in the cast are Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Erik Mørk, Jørgen Reenberg and Henning Jensen.

Von Trier writes with Niels Vorsel, it is produced by Bo Christiensen and Peter Jensen and scored by Joachim Holbek.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4669

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