From its first hypnotically narrated moments, EUROPA asserts itself as a spellbinding trip through time and space. Young, naive American Leopold Kessler takes a job as a sleeping-car conductor on the Zentropa railway in 1945 Germany. He becomes entangled in the bizarre world of the train and of the postwar German wasteland,and is ultimately revealed to be a pawn, a paralyzed observer trapped in a nightmarish web. A seductive Barbara Sukowa radiates an old-school siren energy, contributing to the noir aesthetic von Trier strives to create.

The viewer may attempt to interpret von Trier’s mix of color and black-and-white as infused with a particular emotional or moral significance. Likewise, one might attempt to decipher EUROPA’s allegory; is it a statement about the U.S.’s late entry into WWII, or a general indictment on Americans’ ignorance about the countriesthey believe they are helping? However you choose to interpret Europa, it will leave you spellbound and, perhaps, a bit claustrophobic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvnlawgfAY4

EUROPA(1991) dir. Lars von Trier [107 min.]
Museum of Fine Arts: Remis Auditorium, 161
Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 pm
Also screens on Friday, February 7 at 4:30 pm

$9 MFA members, seniors, and students
$11 Nonmembers

Part of Ongoing Film Series: The Films of Lars von Trier
In English, German, and Danish with English subtitles.