Europa, Europa

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Juan C The only bad movie I've seen on this topic. The main idea is interesting, but there are several scenes that are as unnecessary as they are ridiculous. Add to that the poor performance by the lead actor, and it feels like a waste of time. An overrated movie. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/19/25 Full Review Dave S If it weren't based on actual events, Agnieszka Holland's Europa Europa would seem like a pretty improbable story. While certain liberties were probably taken with the actual events, it remains a compelling tale of survival and assimilation set during the horrors of WW2 in Europe. Torn from his family, 16-year-old Salomon masks his Jewish roots while he travels the countryside, ultimately finding himself enrolled as a member of the Hitler Youth. Beautifully shot and acted, especially by Marco Hofschneider in the lead role and Julie Delpy in a brief appearance early in her career, Europa Europa is a cautionary tale that is, sadly enough, as relevant today as it was when it was released over thirty years ago. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member An extraordinary and true story about a German Jewish boy who due to extreme circumstances finds himself in the elite Hitler Jugend, fully underlining how absurd and insane the Nazi race ideology is and forever will be. Oustanding acting by a young main cast and otherwise well executed. A timeless film about an exceptional pocket of time. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I thought the film was stunning in telling this story that is incredible yet true. Aside from any documentaries that I've been, I thought that it was the finest film covering the the atrocities of Holocaust up until Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, Schindler's List. It's a shame that it wasn't nominated for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. This one did not affect me despite its at times interesting plot. Overall, it was tedious and fictionalized. Saw on HBO. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L Europa Europa was groundbreaking in its use of black comedy to discuss extremely dark themes, in this case the capability for cruelty on a societal level and the crisis of conscience associated with bending moral standards to survive in desperate times; there has been speculation that the inclusion of these more lighthearted design choices ultimately was responsible for the film's absence on the list of nominees at the Academy Awards, the German Export Film Union being dismissive of the style. However, compared to modern films that use similar structure, Europa Europa feels rather tame (like something of a more conservative JoJo Rabbit); it's not consistently funny enough to carry itself on the strength of the humor, and the much more prevalent drama ends up feeling like its tinged with fantasy rather than balanced with it. There is a sense of imperviousness that Hofschneider's Solomon begins to embody that really takes away from the threatening suspense of the dramatic segments; you wind up thinking how the script will get him out of a bind rather than the brutality of the Nazi regime quite often. However, the film largely redeems itself as it dedicates considerable time to developing secondary characters and Solomon's relationships with them before pulling the rug out from under you with a shocking display of callousness or disregard for human decency that nails home the film's central criticisms of Nazism. At one point, Solomon is sent to an academy for Hitler Youth, where he gradually settles into school life, and for a few minutes you get lost in the passions and concerns of a teenager. But then, you run into a dumping ground of Jewish headstones ripped from local cemeteries, and Solomon's love interest casually compares them to lice. We might not get the chance to experience much in the way of our protagonist's tortured sense of self (which can be called one of the major shortcomings of the film), but the careful preparation that is necessary to deliver shock value like that - profound, but reliant only on conversation - is well worth the watch. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/06/22 Full Review Read all reviews

Europa, Europa

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