Lars von Trier's 'Europa' has a surreal, dreamlike, Lynchian feel to it. The movie is introduced by a narrator (Max von Sydow) who keeps up with the main character and the viewers during the story, which felt very nostalgic. The usage of a color camera in tandem with a black and white camera is interesting, although I couldn't exactly grasp what the contrast between the two styles meant. The score is great and really made me forget at times that this wasn't a 1991 movie but rather something made in the 40's or 50's.
The characters are mostly interesting, the least interesting being the main character (played by Jean-Marc Barr) since his motivations and backstory is rarely mentioned. He thus feels like mostly a device to move the viewer around to more interesting characters (such as his love interest and her family) and their plots. The actor gives a decent performance, although I think the movie could've been elevated by someone a little more memorable (someone like Udo Kier for example, who plays his very hatable uncle!)
Storywise it didn't do a *lot* for me, mostly due to the way the film ends, although I did get a chuckle out of it. The film strength lies in the moody atmosphere, it's dreamlike quality and it managed to mostly engage me during its almost 2 hour runtime. I give it a 7+/10.
The characters are mostly interesting, the least interesting being the main character (played by Jean-Marc Barr) since his motivations and backstory is rarely mentioned. He thus feels like mostly a device to move the viewer around to more interesting characters (such as his love interest and her family) and their plots. The actor gives a decent performance, although I think the movie could've been elevated by someone a little more memorable (someone like Udo Kier for example, who plays his very hatable uncle!)
Storywise it didn't do a *lot* for me, mostly due to the way the film ends, although I did get a chuckle out of it. The film strength lies in the moody atmosphere, it's dreamlike quality and it managed to mostly engage me during its almost 2 hour runtime. I give it a 7+/10.