“In war, life is so simple. It’s only afterwards that complications arise.”
I’d like to preface this review by pointing out that this is only the second of von Trier’s films that I have seen, the other being his occasionally brilliant, often awful, always interesting Antichrist. However, if these two films are any indication of his overall style, I’ve already picked up several things about him; he knows how to frame a shot, he loves mixing in black humor in the oddest situations, and it seems like he can’t resist a shocking ending. So with that, I give you…Europa.
The story follows Leopold Kessler, an American who goes AWOL and comes to Germany in the months after World War II to become a sleeping car conductor on the Zentropa Rail Lines. Along the way he meets the family that owns the line, falls in love, and gets involved with The Werwolves.
There’s a lot to like about this film. Right off the bat, Max von Sydow’s haunting narration draws you in like a hypnotist. It was brilliant casting on von Trier’s part, although only the second best choice in the film (the first being Lemmy Caution himself Eddie Contsantine as Colonel Harris). I also really enjoyed all the themes he’s exploring here; pacifism, the necessity of evil, religion (or lack-there-of). One of the most interesting things was the irony of Kessler’s pacifism; precisely BECAUSE he was so neutral, everyone was able to manipulate and control him to do whatever they wanted, ultimately making him more evil than them.
Von Trier’s camera is always alive, as well. A large number of shots start right up against a window looking in, then pull back, as if to make the viewer almost a voyeur spying on these conversations. His restraint is very impressive; several scenes would probably work just as well if the camera moved along a bit faster, but he was clearly determined to keep the pacing the entire way through. Look out for a particularly gorgeous shot of an open-air midnight mass near the middle of the film; one of the most gorgeous sequences I’ve seen in awhile. Finally, the cast is uniformly good. Jean-Marc Barr, who plays the pacifist Kessler with just about the blankest slate you’ve ever seen, will seem like horrible casting until about the last ten minutes, when you realize why von Trier made the decision. Stick with it, it pays off.
Honestly, I really enjoyed this film. I only had one qualm with it, although it’s a pretty big one. Very early on in the film, we’re introduced to a device that von Trier ends up using a lot through the course of the film. And that is (as shown above) the choice to film the majority of the film in black and white, but intercutting some scenes with both and others in just straight color. On the surfance, I didn’t really have a problem with it. It’s interesting, and looks kind of cool. The problem I found, after awhile, was that there’s NO REASON FOR IT. Never once did I pick up on it symbolizing certain things in certain scenes. More likely than not, I’m just missing something, but it really bugged me.
After having sat through two entire Lars von Trier films, the biggest conclusion I’ve come to is that the man just isn’t as controversial as critics like to make him out to be. He makes interesting, if sometimes odd or experimental, films, that don’t contain half the controversy they’re said to. And knowing that things like Dancer in the Dark or Dogville weren’t quite as controversial really makes me wonder what all the fuss is about.
Read the rest of the reviews for this month’s project here.
Film Fidelity 