Dimension (2010 film)

 

Directed by Lars von Trier and written by von Trier and Niels Vorsel, Dimension is an unfinished gangster film made from 1991 to 1997 that was an experimental project that was to consist of four-minute segments that was to be shot in a period of 33 years. It is a project that explores von Trier’s desire to experiment with a group of actors on something that was to be unique but never to be due to the deaths of a few actors as the result is a 27-minute short of what could’ve been. Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Stellan Skarsgard, Udo Kier, Katrin Cartlidge, Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Baard Owe, Birgitte Raaberg, Jens Okking, and Eddie Constantine. Dimension, in its unfinished form, is a fascinating and inventive experimental short film by Lars von Trier.

The film follows events in what was meant to be the course of 33 years as it followed the many journeys of various people in the world of crime. It starts with a man (Eddie Constantine) who arrives via helicopter to make a delivery to two gangsters (Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier) as he would then sell his horse one year later to a Swedish businessman (Ernst-Hugo Jaregard) where things later get problematic following that man’s death. Even as the two gangsters go on the run as they hide at the home of one of the gangsters’ uncle (Jens Okking) who lets them in but with a catch as they’re later hunted by a hitman (Baard Owe) forcing the two gangsters to go to a woman (Katrin Cartlidge) for information. She would later reluctantly help the hitman and another gangster (Stellan Skarsgard) to retrieve a parcel only for things to go wrong as usual. It all play into the schematics of what is expected in gangster films but also with an absurd sense of humor.

Lars von Trier’s direction is stylish as it is set on various locations in Sweden, the South of France, and Denmark as it starts off in a straightforward yet stylish manner though it is largely presented in a raw form that had been cultivated by Hanne Palmquist. Throughout the course of the film, von Trier’s style went from being somewhat technical in its compositions with straightforward static shots in the wide and medium shots for the locations while becoming looser in the close-ups as they’re shot on hand-held camera. Notably in the scenes involving the two gangsters and one of their uncles as they go grocery shopping as they have to buy him a feast in exchange for temporarily staying with them. Even in the scenes with Katrin Cartlidge’s character as it is shot mainly in the winter as she is jogging where the usage of hand-held cameras become evident including in her scene meeting with the Swedish businessman. The fact that it’s only 27-minutes long showcase an idea that had a lot of potential but given the fact that two of the three actors died during its production with Cartlidge dying in 2002 forced von Trier to shelve it five years after he had stopped film to pursue other projects.

The film’s ensemble cast features a cameo appearance from Birgitte Raaberg as a jogger who passes by the two gangsters and the woman during a jog as well as Baard Owe as the hitman who is pursing the gangsters and the parcel. Stellan Skarsgard is superb as another gangster working with the hitman while Katrin Cartlidge is excellent as a woman who knew the two gangsters from the film earlier in whom she is reluctant to give them information. Jens Okking is fantastic as an uncle of one of the two gangsters who gives them a place to crash on the condition they buy him a feast while Ernst-Hugo Jaregard is brilliant as a Swedish businessman buying a horse. Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier are amazing as the two gangsters who go out in hiding following some bad decisions as they deal with the chaos of a deal they made a long time ago. Finally, there’s Eddie Constantine in one of his final film performances film just before his death as a man who delivers the gangsters a parcel and later becoming this ailing man who sells his best horse to the Swedish businessman.

Dimension is an excellent project from Lars von Trier in its unfinished form. While it showcases an idea that is unique and imaginative. The fact that it is left unfinished due to the deaths of Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Eddie Constantine, and Katrin Cartlidge does showcase the potential that von Trier had for a unique gangster film. In the end, Dimension is a superb yet unfinished film from Lars von Trier.

Lars von Trier Films: The Element of Crime - Epidemic - Medea - Europa - The Kingdom I - Breaking the Waves - The Kingdom II - Dogme #2: Idioterne - Dancer in the Dark - Dogville - The Five Obstructions - Manderlay - The Boss of It All - Antichrist - Melancholia - Nymphomaniac - The House That Jack Built - The Kingdom: Exodus - (Etudes)

Related: Favorite Films #3: Breaking the Waves - The Auteurs #7: Lars von Trier

© thevoid99 2023

2017 Blind Spot Series: World on a Wire

Based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye, Welt am Draht (World on a Wire) is the story of an engineer who makes a chilling discovery in the corporation he works for involving conspiracies following the death of a colleague. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and screenplay by Fassbinder and Fritz Muller-Scherz, the film is a two-part sci-fi miniseries that blends with all sorts of genres from film noir, melodrama, and suspense as it play into a man pondering his own existence in a world where everyone is trying to find answers through machines. Starring Klaus Lowitsch, Barbara Valentin, Mascha Rabben, Karl Heinz Vosgerau, Wolfgang Schenck, Gunter Lamprecht, and Ulli Lommel. Welt am Draht is an evocative yet whimsical film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Set in modern-day Cologne, West Germany, the film revolves around a murder mystery where an engineer is trying to find out what happened as sudden disappearances have occurred while becoming a target from his superiors. It’s a film that explores a man who is trying to deal with these mysterious events around him while trying out this new simulation experiment that the company he works for is making. Yet, he would question the world he’s in as it raises a lot of questions into the people that disappeared as well as who to trust. The film’s screenplay by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Fritz Muller-Scherz definitely explore the idea of reality but also fantasy in what humans want to experience. Yet, it is about the mystery of what this man in Fred Stiller (Klaus Lowitsch) is trying to discover as the film is split into two parts as it was originally made as a two-part miniseries. The first part is about the mysterious death of Professor Henry Vollmer (Adrian Hoven) and the sudden disappearance of Stiller’s friend Gunther Lause (Ivan Desny) at a party Stiller was at.

The script would have Stiller try and solve everything while being promoted as the technical director for the company he works for as he suspects one of the bosses in Herbert Siskins (Karl Heinz Vosgerau). Stiller has few he could trust as he also encounter’s Vollmer’s daughter Eva (Mascha Rabben) who wants to know what happens to her father. The second part isn’t just about the world that Stiller is in but there’s also a strange twist which definitely blurs what is happening around him. Especially where he becomes a suspect of Vollmer’s murder and comes to term with the fact that he knows too much and his superiors want him dead. Then there’s the stuff about technology and how it can manipulate one’s perception of reality which is prominent in the film as the simulation machine that Stiller is trying to observe has him realize of its power and how it can distort things.

Fassbinder’s direction is definitely stylish for not just the world he creates inside the emerging world of supercomputers but also for setting it in modern times rather than the future. Shot on 16mm film and on location in Cologne, West Germany, Fassbinder would largely set the film in some of the business sections but also use locations such as shopping malls where some of the characters meet. Though it’s shot in the 1:33:1 full-frame aspect ratio which was common with television in those times, Fassbinder is able to use that format to his advantage in some of the wide and medium shots. Using some dolly-tracking shots for some of the camera movements, Fassbinder showcases a world that does feel modern but also a bit futuristic in some respects. Yet, he takes his time in unveiling bits and pieces where the film does start off slow in order to establish the characters, environment, and the situation that Stiller is in.

Fassbinder would also create hints in the first part of the film to showcase things that could play into this world that Stiller is in as it blur the line in reality and fiction. Once the big reveal in the first half is presented, it does change the tone of the film into something that is far more intriguing but also filled with a lot of twists and turns. There isn’t a lot of big moments of action in the film as it’s more about ideas and motivations as Fassbinder wants the audience to follow the events as well as antagonists planning their next move. By the time the film reaches its climax where Stiller would uncover some truth, it is once again about the world that he’s in and how it may not be the reality that he or anyone wants. Especially when there are things around him that doesn’t make any sense where he comes into question about who he is. Overall, Fassbinder creates a hypnotic yet rapturous film about a man questioning himself and his own environment while solving a murder mystery.

Cinematographers Michael Ballhaus and Ulrich Prinz do brilliant work with the film’s grainy yet colorful cinematography as it play into the dazzling lights inside some of the interiors as well as some of the exterior scenes at night. Editors Marie Anne Gerhardt and Ursula Elles do amazing work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts help play to the film’s methodical pacing as well as in creating some of its eerie moments of suspense. Production designers Kurt Raab, Horst Giese, and Walter Koch do incredible work with the set design from the supercomputer room and the simulation room plus the homes of some of the characters to play into their personalities. Costume designer Gabrielle Pillon does fantastic work with the design of the dresses that the women wear as well as some of the clothes of the men to play into their own personalities

The makeup work by Rosemarie Schonartz is terrific for the way some of the women look in the film as well as other oddball characters that Stiller would meet like a waiter a nightclub. The sound work of Hans Pampuch and Ernst Thomas is superb for not just the sparseness in some of the quieter moments but how some of the screeching sounds of electronics come into play to try and stop Stiller from discovering something as it add so much to the environment he’s in. The film’s music by Gottfried Hungsberg and Archives is excellent for its mixture of orchestral and electronic music that play into the suspense and drama while the music soundtrack features an array of classical music pieces as well as contemporary cuts from Elvis Presley and Fleetwood Mac.

The film’s phenomenal cast include some notable small roles from Eddie Constantine as a man who gives Stiller a ride late in the film, El Hedi ben Salem as a corporate hood in Castro, Rudolph Lenz as the corporate chief Hartmann, Kurt Raab as Siskins’ new corporate observer Mark Holm, Ingrid Caven as a reporter’s secretary, Joachim Hansen as the executive Hans Edelkern, Adrian Hoven as Professor Vollmer, and Ivan Desny as Stiller’s friend Gunther Lause who tells him about Vollmer’s death before he mysteriously disappears. Ulli Lommel is terrific as the reporter Rupp who is one of the few that believes that Stiller is telling the truth while Wolfgang Schenck is superb as the inspector Franz Hahn who also makes a discovery that proves that Stiller is innocent until he behaves quite strangely. Margit Carstensen is wonderful as Maya Schmidt-Genter as a lover of Stiller who only appears occasionally as someone that is a source of comfort until she too acts strangely towards him.

Barbara Valentin is fantastic as Stiller’s secretary Gloria Fromm as a beautiful and voluptuous woman who is quite ambiguous in her motives yet later realizes what is really going on. Gunter Lamprecht is excellent as Fritz Walfang as a scientist who has help create the simulation machine as he becomes aware of what is really going on as he becomes one of the few who believes Stiller. Karl-Heinz Vosgerau is brilliant as Herbert Siskins as a corporate executive who tries to cover up a murder while plotting many things in the hope he would silence Stiller. Mascha Rabben is amazing as Eva Vollmer as the daughter of Professor Vollmer who is trying to figure out what happened to her father while befriending Stiller who she believes can help him while also being mysterious herself. Finally, there’s Klaus Lowitsch in an incredible performance as Fred Stiller as an engineer who finds himself trying to solve a murder where he questions his own self and existence as it’s a very engaging performance that has him be the every-man but also with some anguish and humor.

Welt am Draht is a tremendous film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Featuring a great cast, imaginative set designs, a provocative and enthralling premise, and a hypnotic soundtrack. It’s a film that definitely plays against the conventional aspects of sci-fi while also delving into massive themes of self-being and the world that people live in whether it’s reality or fantasy. In the end, Welt am Draht is a spectacular film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder Than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) - Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) - The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) - Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle

© thevoid99 2017

2015 Blind Spot Series: Alphaville

Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Alphaville: une etrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution) is the story of a secret agent who is assigned to an inventor of a Fascist computer in a futuristic world. The film is a mixture of science fiction with film noir as it plays into a world that is strange as a man finds himself in a world that mixes elements of the 20th Century with a world that is very foreign to him. Starring Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Howard Vernon, and Akim Tamiroff. Alphaville is a strange yet entrancing film from Jean-Luc Godard.

Set in a futuristic world that isn’t too distant from 1960s France, the film revolves around a secret agent who arrives in a dystopian city to kill an inventor who has created a computer that controls its people as ideas of love, art, and free-thinking is banned. While it’s a plot that is very simple, it is a story that is very complex as its auteur Jean-Luc Godard creates something that is very abstract as it relates to ideas of existentialism and what a man is trying to do in this dystopian world. It is largely told from the perspective of its lead character Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) who arrives to the city of Alphaville under an alias as he meets this mysterious woman named Natacha von Braun (Anna Karina) whose father (Howard Vernon) is the inventor of the computer known as Alpha 60.

It’s a script that doesn’t play into any conventions as the computer itself is a character in the story as it acts as this cold antagonist that mocks the ideas of love, individuality, and something as simple as poetry. The script is filled with a lot of ideas to set up this dystopian world as it plays into a future that doesn’t feel too distant yet it plays into a world that is the antithesis of what was happening in the 1960s. Even as cities of other countries are referred to in different languages as New York is said in its Spanish pronunciation while everything outside of Alphaville is referred to as the Outlands. It’s where Caution comes from as he brings books of poetry and a gun as his encounters with Natacha would have him going into a personal mission of his own as she had been in control of Alpha 60 as she has no idea what love is or anything else.

Godard’s direction is definitely stylish as he definitely goes for something that is very off-the-wall as he shoots the film on location in Paris without the need to really do anything different to the locations. It’s shot as if Alphaville is stuck in the 1960s even though it is the future as Godard’s use of wide shots and very offbeat angles help play into this strange world that is the future. The film also features these gazing images that play into the future as the computer Alpha 60 is played an electric fan with a light in the background. There is something that feels absurd about what the future is as objects from the time are present such as a camera that Caution carries which was new at the time of the film’s production. Godard also uses some very intricate compositions such as close-ups and medium shots to help play into the suspense and drama while going for some very engaging camera angles to play into something that feels off and otherworldly. While there is a lot that goes on where it can be hard to follow at times, it does play into Caution’s own adventure to try and stop the ideas of a computer from spreading the rest of the free world. Overall, Godard crafts a very engaging yet off-the-wall film about a man killing a computer inventor in a futuristic world.

Cinematographer Raoul Coutard does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography as he uses some intricate lighting schemes and textures to play into the world that is Alphaville for scenes at night as well as some moods for the daytime scenes. Editor Agnes Guillemot does brilliant work with the editing to create some very disconcerting jump-cuts to play into suspense along with other stylish cuts for its sense of drama and action. Production designer Pierre Guffroy does fantastic work with the design of the hotel rooms that Caution would stay in as well as some of the places he goes into including the secret office of Professor von Braun.

The sound work of Rene Levert does superb work with some of the sound effects as well as the distorted voice of the Alpha 60 computer. The film’s music by Paul Misraki is wonderful for its myriad of orchestral music from suspenseful themes to lush and evocative pieces to play into Caution’s love for Natacha.

The film’s phenomenal cast includes some notable appearances from Jean-Pierre Leaud as a breakfast waiter, Christa Lang and Valerie Boisgel as a couple of seductresses, Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean-Andre Fieschi as a couple of professors respectively named Jeckell and Heckell, and Akim Tamiroff in a terrific performance as a friend of Caution in Henri Dickson who was supposed to do the mission but succumb to the traps of Alpha 60’s ideas. Howard Vernon is excellent as Professor von Braun/Leonard Nosferatu as the inventor of Alpha 60 who tries to remove elements of his own humanity as he offers Caution to join him.

Anna Karina is remarkable as Natacha as a woman who had been in Alphaville for too long as she accompanies Caution to the world as she starts to attain elements of humanity including the idea of love. Finally, there’s Eddie Constantine in an incredible performance as Lenny Caution/Ivan Johnson as a spy posing as a journalist who is assigned to kill an inventor as he copes with the strangeness of his surroundings and the ideas of Alphaville as it is a very chilling yet intoxicating performance from Constantine.

Alphaville is a sensational film from Jean-Luc Godard that features great performances from Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina. While it maybe one of Godard’s more offbeat and inaccessible features during his New Wave period. It is still a fascinating film that plays into the idea of dystopia as if it was set in a modern world where things have unknowingly changed. In the end, Alphaville is a tremendously provocative yet exhilarating film from Jean-Luc Godard.

Jean-Luc Godard Films: All the Boys Are Called Patrick - Charlotte et son Jules - Breathless - The Little Soldier - A Woman is a Woman - My Life to Live - The Carabineers - Contempt - Band of Outsiders - A Married Woman - Pierrot Le Fou - Masculin Feminin - Made in U.S.A. - Two or Three Things I Know About Her - La Chinoise - Weekend - One Plus One (Sympathy for the Devil) - (Joy of Learning) - (British Sounds) - Tout va Bien - (Letter to Jane) - (One A.M.) - (Number Two) - (Here and Elsewhere) - (Every Man for Himself) - (Passion) - (First Name: Carmen) - Hail, Mary - (Soft and Hard) - (Detective) - (King Lear (1987 film)) - (Keep Your Right Up) - (Nouvelle Vague) - (Allemagne 90 neuf zero) - (JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December) - For Ever Mozart - (Historie(s) de Cinema) - (In Praise of Love) - (Notre musique) - (Film Socialisme) - (Adieu au Language) - (The Image Book)

© thevoid99 2015

The Long Good Friday

Directed by John Mackenzie and written by Barrie Keeffe, The Long Good Friday is the story of a gangster seeking to go legit only to see his empire being crumbled by an unseen foe. The film is an exploration into changing times in the wake of social and political turmoil in the 1970s in Britain as it revolves a gangster dealing with these changes. Starring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Bryan Marshall, Eddie Constantine, Derek Thompson, and Paul Freeman. The Long Good Friday is a suspenseful yet thrilling film from John Mackenzie.

In the world of the mob, there are rules about what to do when deals are made and how to conduct things. For this mob boss in Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins), he’s always been careful and making sure he get things done while he doesn’t deal in drugs in the hope to do something good for Britain. Just as he’s about to make this deal with an American mobster in Charlie (Eddie Constantine) that would help ensure London’s status with the world. Something goes wrong as a series of bombings and murders occur as Shand and his men wonder what is going on. Even as Shand tries to get the police involved as the film becomes a mystery of sorts about not just this new enemy that Shand is facing but an indication that the old ways he’s been known for is on its way out.

Barrie Keeffe’s screenplay is an exploration into the fall of a crime boss’s empire just as he’s eager to become a legitimate businessman. Yet, these incidents that revolve around the death of some of his key personnel all takes place in the span of nearly two days starting on Good Friday. For Shand, he’s baffled into why all of these deaths are happening as he doesn’t have many enemies while it comes at the worst possible day. With his mistress Victoria (Helen Mirren) trying to smooth things out for Charlie and his lawyer Tony (Stephen Davies), even Victoria is aware that Charlie knows something as she doesn’t bullshit them but does manage to keep them in Britain for another day so that Shand can conclude their deal.

Of course, things do become complicated for Shand as he targets associates and such as he has no idea who to trust. Yet, his right-hand man Jeff (Derek Thompson) and a police official in Parky (Dave King) have an idea on who is targeting Shand. What Shand would find out is that the enemy that he’s dealing with are from an entirely different world as well as the fact that they don’t play by the old rules. Jeff and Parky would try to tell the old-school Shand to not approach this with violence but Shand has this belief that once something can be taken care of. It will go away. Still, there are things that become more complicated when Shand will do things that become overwhelming as Victoria would be the one person who will step in and try to sort things out but from afar as she is the closest person that Shand could trust.

John Mackenzie’s direction is definitely entrancing not just for some of the compositions that he creates but also the way he sets up the air of uncertainty that occurs in the suspense of the film. The film does start off with this montage involving a business deal that would set the stage for what is to happen. Yet, it doesn’t involve Shand directly yet it does involve his men. Though Shand is oblivious as he’s more concerned about this deal as it is presented with such lavishness on his yacht where behind him is the London Tower bridge in the frame. It’s an image to display Shand’s idea for the future of London while maintaining an air of tradition of what Britain is about just as he’s unaware of some of the things that is happening in his empire. Mackenzie does use a lot of stylistic shots from the use of cranes and tracking camera shots including some amazing images that play up the suspense.

Mackenzie’s approach to suspense is at times slow-building but also comes in for some unexpected moments as it does involve some key characters. After a few bombings, there is that sense that something could go wrong and another bomb might come in. Once there’s an idea of who the enemy is, things become more complicated as it all goes back to the beginning of the film. It reveals how this small deal involving one of Shand’s key men would lead to all sorts of trouble. The camera work becomes much tighter as well as ominous because it establishes the idea of a new world order emerging to get rid of the old. Especially if this new group is an organization that no one including the crime world should fuck with because the rules are different as Mackenzie puts in little moments that would establish this idea of a new world order. Overall, Mackenzie crafts a very haunting yet powerful crime drama about changing times and a crime boss’ fall.

Cinematographer Phil Meheux does brilliant work with the film‘s very vibrant cinematography for many of its daytime scenes while creating more stylish lighting schemes for scenes at night including some of its interior settings. Editor Mike Taylor does terrific work with the editing to play out the film‘s suspense along with some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s violent moments. Art director Vic Symonds does nice work with the look of Shand’s yacht and penthouse that he shares with Victoria as well as the look of the meat locker where he confronts some suspects.

Costume designer Tudor George does wonderful work with the costumes from the look of the men’s suits to the dresses that Victoria wears to display not just her persona but also as a woman of great importance. Sound editor Russ Hill does excellent work with the sound from the tense atmosphere in the dinner scene between Victoria, Charlie, and a couple of associates to the more chilling moments involving some of the film‘s violence. The film’s music by Francis Monkman is absolutely phenomenal as it’s a mixture of rock and electronic music driven by synthesizers to play out the sense of dread and uncertainty that occurs in the film as well as some eerie pieces that adds to the drama of the film.

The casting by Simone Reynolds is amazing as it features early film appearances from such future figures in British cinema like Dexter Fletcher as a kid watching Shand’s car, Paul Barber as an informant Shand confronts, Kevin McNally as a man in a Belfast bar, Karl Howman as Parky’s associate, Gillian Taylforth as a young woman who makes a chilling discovery, and Pierce Brosnan in his very first film role as an Irish hitman. Other notable small roles include Stephen Davies as Charlie’s lawyer Tony, P.H. Moriarty as Shand’s brutish hitman Razors, Bryan Marshall as councilman named Harris, Paul Freeman as Shand’s best friend Colin who gets killed early in the film, Dave King as the police official Parky, and Derek Thompson as Shand’s right-hand man Jeff who eventually reveals the kind of trouble that Shand is dealing with.

Eddie Constantine is great as the American gangster Charlie who knows more than what is going on as he becomes reluctant to do business with Shand over the incidents that’s been happening. Helen Mirren is fantastic as Shand’s mistress Victoria who deals with some of the chaos that is happening as she tries to keep the business going while keeping Shand in check as it’s a very captivating performance for a role that could’ve been conventional. Finally, there’s Bob Hoskins in his breakthrough performance as Harold Shand as an old-school gangster who attempts to go legit only to unravel by various incidents as he tries to hold on to the old ways in a world that’s changing. It’s a performance that allows Hoskins to be tough but also vulnerable as it’s a very mesmerizing performance from Hoskins.

The Long Good Friday is a remarkable crime thriller from John Mackenzie featuring incredible performances from Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. The film isn’t just an intriguing gangster film but also a study into changing times as it revolves around a gangster’s empire crumbling by these changes. Notably as it involves enemies that are coming from a different world with different ideas making things difficult for the old world order. In the end, The Long Good Friday is an exhilarating film from John Mackenzie.

© thevoid99 2013

Europa

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/9/05 w/ Additional Edits, Revisions, & New Content.

Directed by Lars von Trier and written by von Trier and Niels Vorsel, Europa chronicles von Trier's tale of the disintegration of European society. Straying away from the futuristic, post-noir style of Element of Crime and the bleak presentation of Epidemic, Europa goes back in time to 1945 Germany, shortly after the second World War. The story revolves around a naive American who goes to Germany to work with his German uncle as he falls for a woman who wants him to be a part of a plan for a fleeing group of possible Nazi sympathizers. Eschewing his stylish frame of cinema, von Trier pulls out all the stops for optical work, camera tricks with many of the film shot in black-and-white with a mix of color. Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Erik Mork, Eddie Constantine, Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Udo Kier, and Max Von Sydow as the narrator. Europa is a visual spectacle where von Trier pulls out every trick in the book.

Leopold Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr) is a young American in Germany to work with his uncle (Ernst-Hugo Jaregard) for the Zentropa train company post-war 1945. With his uncle guiding him on what to do at the station, the idealistic Leopold gets to work at a restored train car as a conductor where he meets a woman named Katharina Hartmann (Barbara Sukowa). Leopold learns that Katharina's family runs the company as he meets her brother Lawrence (Udo Keer) and her father Max (Jorgen Reenberg) and the family priest Father Jaregard (Erik Mork) at a dinner. Leopold realizes that the family could be Nazi-sympathizers who are planning a plot to reclaim power for Germany until he attends another dinner with an American colonel named Harris (Eddie Constantine).

Harris asks Leopold to keep an eye on everything that happens at his train car though his uncle doesn't think the job will be easy following an an attempted assassination on a politician. After another dinner with the Hartmanns which Harris also attends with a Jewish man (Lars von Trier) about a questionnaire that Max had taken. Max gives Leopold a cryptic message as Leopold's relationship with Katharina blossoms despite an incident where Leopold meets a man named Siggy (Henning Jensen). Siggy is revealed to be the man that had planned the attempted assassination as he asks Leopold to take part in a plan for his ailing Werewolf company. After marrying Katharina, Leopold's life seems to go well as he has a conductor exam approaching until Katharina asks him to go to Frankfurt with her for an emergency. There, Leopold realizes what it is going on as Siggy wants him to do something which has Leopold becoming a pawn in a grand scheme.

The idea of conventional thrillers are something that is done in cinema but von Trier is very unconventional by bringing his radical, experimental approach to storytelling. Using all of the visual and technical camera tricks, rear-projections, super-imposed shots, and mixing color with black-and-white with computers. The enfant terrible goes for style while using all of those ideas to bring unconventional themes to his story. The storyteller of von Trier is really telling a story about a man who is pulled into all of these situations of conformity only to rebel in the end. There's even one poignant scene in which von Trier had Max Hartmann, just before his death, give a cryptic warning to Leopold Kessler.

The script is filled with kind of tension and dreamlike quality that appeared in all of von Trier's films but the film is also like previous parts of his European trilogy of The Element of Crime and Epidemic, the disintegration of Europe. In Europa, Germany's defeat in World War II really is defined as the end of an old Europe with Russia becoming a superpower and countries are being split into political factions. Something that would hurt Germany even more in the 1960s as it got split before officially reuniting in 1990. The tension is there as we see Americans taking over with the corruptible Colonel Harris wanting to control Zentropa trains for his own political gain. It's a film about power in the simplistic form. Even the narration of Max Von Sydow gives the film an impending doom for the protagonist along with foreshadowing events on what he might do.

The directing style of von Trier is all over the place like in his eerie, post-noir debut feature Element of Crime. Going mostly for black-and-white, there's moments in the film where it's very multi-dimensional on a visual scale where Leo would sleep and behind him, there's a message flashing with big letters across the screen. There's shots where there's another projection screen on display where it's like the audience is seeing two films in one. Then there's the use of color where von Trier would get the characters to go into color for emotional intensity or in an act of violence. There's a lot of spectacular moments in his directing except for the fact that he couldn't keep the film move fast enough to make it more interesting which is why the film does suffer a bit from its slow pacing. Also, because of its experimental, radical approach, the film might seem to other people as something very pretentious.

Helping von Trier in the technical, visual department are his team of cinematographers led by Henning Bendsten who brings an authenticity and graininess to the film's black-and-white photography while Edward Klosinski and Jean-Paul Meurisse bring in the more visual spectacle elements of color and rear-projection shots. Editor Herve Schneid also brings in a fluid, stylized editing format that helps brings tension to the film including in its intense moments though he too couldn't help von Trier's slow, languid directing style. Production designer Henning Bahs does wonderful work in capturing post-Germany's bleak outlook while costume designer Manon Rasmussen helps captures the time in the clothes, notably the business-like clothing of Katharina. Joachim Holbek brings in a symphonic, dreamy score in the film's dramatic moments but when the film intensifies into action, the score goes into full on overdrive.

Then there's the film's amazingly, superb cast of actors in which a few of them like Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, and Ernst-Hugo Jaregard would become regulars to von Trier's films. Now most directors would love to appear in their own films and von Trier makes a great impression as a Jewish man from the Holocaust who signs a questionnaire for the guilt-ridden Max Hartmann. The late Ernst-Hugo Jaregard is excellent as the strict uncle of Leopold who is concerned with his nephew's future while having no remorse for what he is going through, especially at the troubling time his country is in as Jaregard gives a guarded, moralistic performance. Eddie Constantine is also wonderful as the American Colonel Harris who is a patriotic man who wants to rebuild the Zentropa railway station but his intentions are very strange since he's hoping it would give him power but is conflict over his own duties as he tries to find the remaining werewolf company.

Jorgen Reenberg is excellent as the guilt-ridden, weary Max Hartmann who realizes that all of his deeds in supporting Nazi Germany might get him trouble. Reenberg brings in a lot of the emotional tension of countryman wanting forgiveness while becoming an unlikely parental source for Leopold. Erik Mork also plays the moral card as the sympathetic and indifferent Father Jaregard who tries to show Max the right way while not wanting to be involved with any kind of troubles as he presents the rare moral guide of the film. Udo Kier is wonderfully devilish as the power-hungry Lawrence who has his issues with war and is hoping to go to America and gain some power there. Barbara Sukowa is wonderful as the complex Katharina who seduces Leopold with her beauty while having some dark intentions as her character has a conflicted side to herself since she wants what's best for her country or what she wants from Leopold which is love.

Jean-Marc Barr delivers probably his greatest performance to date as the naive, idealistic Leopold. Barr brings in all sorts of innocence early on to the role only to be confused and dumbfounded by his surroundings and the rules he's forced to live with. Barr really gives the film its heart as a dreamer who wants everything a man wants but finds himself in places that he doesn't like. When he rebels, we see Barr go into a full-on mode of some intense acting. It's no wonder von Trier has kept him all of these years into many of his films.

***Additional Content & New Conclusion Written from 12/31/11-1/13/12***

The 2008 Region 1 2-disc DVD from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio for the widescreen format with 5.1 Dolby Digital Stereo Surround Sound. The film is given a new high-definition transfer supervised by director Lars von Trier. The first disc with new and improved subtitles plus various special features including its theatrical trailer.

The full-length audio commentary by Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen is a very relaxed and humorous commentary as the two men reflect on the production. The two talk about the actors that have passed on including Ernst-Hugo Jaregard whom von Trier talks fondly of despite some of the difficulties he had in wanting some attention. The same with Jorgen Reenberg whom von Trier found to be more difficult than Jaregard as it was among many things that kept the production tense as it went from 12 to 16 weeks. Jensen also revealed that it was hard to finance the film as they went to other countries for funding. The overall commentary is very enjoyable and entertaining for what von Trier and Jensen said about the production as they kept giggling throughout the duration of the film.

The 39-minute making-of documentary released in late 1991/early 1992 is a piece about the film’s production on set and how von Trier created many of the surreal yet dream-like moments of the film with superimposed backgrounds. A lot of the film’s exteriors and the bulk of the superimposed images were shot on location in Poland as von Trier used extras for the scenes of the train car being pulled and the church scene. The rest of the film was shot at a studio in Copenhagen, Denmark with the main actors as Eddie Constantine, Udo Kier, and Jean-Marc Barr talk about von Trier’s methods while von Trier also talks about the film as it’s a very intriguing documentary about the film.

The second disc of the DVD includes loads of special feature about the film’s production. The first is Trier’s Element, a 44-minute documentary about Lars von Trier as he discusses Europa as well as how it relates to his previous work in the Europa trilogy. The 1991 doc also features footage of the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and its press conference as well as the making of the project Dimension. The last of which was supposed to be a 30-year project that was eventually abandoned in 1998 as the doc featured von Trier shooting footage with Eddie Constantine, Jean-Marc Barr, and Udo Kier as the whole documentary is a wonderful piece about the young von Trier.

The 20-minute Anecdotes from Europa is a short documentary that features interviews with producer Peter Albaek Jensen, editor/assistant director Tomas Gislason, prop master Peter Grant, co-writer Niels Vorsel actor Jean-Marc Barr, and historian Peter Scheperlen. Schepelern discusses the importance of the film not just in von Trier’s career but for the history of European cinema as it heralded the arrival of von Trier as one of the key cinematic voices of the 1990s. Jensen, Gislason, and Grant discuss the difficulty of the production as well as Ernst-Hugo Jaregard who had a reputation for being difficult where Jensen took a stand at Jaregard to make sure he behaved where he would become one of their collaborators. Barr talks about a scene which nearly killed and a recent screening he attended where he was surprised to see how much it has held up.

The From Dreyer to von Trier interview with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen is a thirteen-and-a-half minute piece about Bendtsen’s work with Carl Theodor Dreyer and Lars von Trier and how different they are. Bendtsen reveals some wonderful stories about Dreyer and how von Trier was able to get the tuxedo he has while reveling in the similarities the two have as filmmakers. The Emotional Music Script is a 12-minute interview with music composer Joachim Holbek about his collaboration von Trier and their approach to music. Holbek reveals that both he and von Trier wanted the music to be emotional as well as stylized in scenes where it mixes two things that might not go together.

Lars von Trier-Anecdotes is a 17-minute short documentary that features interviews with actors Ole Ernst, Jean-Marc Barr, and Michael Simpson, editor/assistant director Tomas Gislason, art director Peter Grant, costume designer Manon Rasmussen, producer Peter Albaek Jensen, production manager Per Armen, and film school teacher Mogens Rukov. Many of them talk about von Trier’s early years and his reputation for being a provocateur with many sharing stories about him including the enfant terrible persona that he’s cultivated throughout the years.

The 44-minute conversation piece with von Trier has the director talking to journalist Bo Green Jensen about the Europa trilogy. The 2005 interview has von Trier discussing the origins of his trilogy as well as love for the work of famed Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky who was a primary influence for his early work. The discussion about all three films are talked about as von Trier recalls a lot about the production and influences he had in making the film that also included American film noir. Jensen asks if von Trier had seen the films recently as von Trier admits he doesn’t want to because it would have him relive the experiences of making it and he doesn’t want to know about how he would react to his early work.

The 10-minute short film Europa-The Faecal Location features rare footage shot by Tomas Gislason on the making of the film as it was originally presented on VHS video footage. The short has Gislason and Peter Albaek Jensen discuss some of the problems with the locations in Poland at the time. Due to the awful vegetation and rivers near their location, the toilets in the hotel they lived in weren’t able to flush properly. Even worse was when both Gislason and von Trier ate apples that made them sick while one of the producers also got sick in the very same apple. It’s a very funny short which revealed what to do when vacationing in Poland during the early years of post-Communism.

The DVD set features a booklet which includes an essay by film critic Howard Hampton entitled Night Train. Hampton discusses the film’s importance in von Trier’s career as well as how von Trier was able to take the idea of American film noir elements and infuse it with a European sensibility. Particularly as it would mark a turning point in von Trier’s career as it indicated that it would be the film that would really be the beginning of him becoming a serious filmmaker. It’s a great read that is part of a truly superb DVD release.

Europa is a stylish yet magnificent film from Lars von Trier. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast and dazzling technical work, the film is among one of von Trier’s finest films in his career. Particularly as it’s the best work of his Europa trilogy of 1984-1991. In the end, Europa is a wondrous and imaginative film from Lars von Trier.

Lars von Trier Films: The Element of Crime - Epidemic - Medea - The Kingdom I - Breaking the Waves - The Kingdom II - Dogme #2: Idioterne - Dancer in the Dark - Dogville - The Five Obstructions - Manderlay - The Boss of It All - Antichrist - Dimension (2010 short) - Melancholia - Nymphomaniac - The House That Jack Built - The Kingdom: Exodus - (Etudes)

Related: The Auteurs #7: Lars von Trier

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