Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Europa Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 25, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy from The Criterion Collection.

If one is to believe the frequently questionable information offered by Wikipedia, there are well over one hundred films that have something to do with hypnosis, including probably unsurprising entries ranging from Svengali to The Three Faces of Eve to The Manchurian Candidate, but also (somewhat hilariously, at least to me) perhaps slightly less expected offerings like Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. Kind of interestingly in that regard and vis a vis the rather broad gamut of films that feature some kind of depiction of the technique, hypnosis can be portrayed as either the tool of someone nefarious (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler ) or alternatively as a long sought after cure for some kind of mental dysfunction (Spellbound). Wikipedia's list of films about hypnosis kind of strangely only includes the first of Lars von Trier's so-called Europe Trilogy, namely The Element of Crime, but hypnosis is at least alluded to in all three films, and all three arguably offer a "middle ground" in terms of depicting hypnotism as both a cure and a potential threat. If hypnotism itself might be thought of as getting subjects into a kind of "limbo" state somewhere between wakefulness and sleeping, von Trier's trilogy is also a dreamscape (or nightmare-scape, as the case may be) where reality and illusion are often seemingly interchangeable.

If Terry Gilliam were to ever direct an adaptation of a Kafka story, it might end up at least something like Europa, even in Lars von Trier tends not to indulge in the kind of whimsy that is frequently part of Gilliam's oeuvre even when Gilliam is offering something unabashedly on the "dark" side. In probably undeniable ways, Europa is the most "straightforward" narrative of the three films included in Criterion's set, but that doesn't necessarily mean von Trier and Niels Vørsel shy away from what might be termed their traditional opacity. If both The Element of Crime and Epidemic at least hinted at some kind of yet to come dystopian world, Europa takes a more "traditionally" historical approach, though arguably in somewhat the same way that Gilliam did in Brazil, at least in tone if not in actual presentational aspects, since the film is pretty solidly placed in a post-World War II era in an occupied Germany. However, much like Jonathan Pryce's hapless Everyman in Gilliam's film, a German-American named Leopold Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr) finds himself ensnared in a Kafka-esque labyrinth of bureaucracies and seemingly incoherent rules when he takes a job as a train conductor in Germany.

Europa begins with the voice of Max von Sydow as a veritable hypnotist, urging the audience / listener to "submit" to the fever dream of the film, which actually has a kind of quasi-thriller aspect as Kessler is tasked with blowing up the very train he's been hired to work on. It's probably salient to note that much of the film seems to take place at night, something that emphasizes the liminal space between wakefulness and nightmare territory.

Europa Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's insert booklet lumps the three films together in its relatively minimal descriptions of the restorations, as follows:

The Element of Crime is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.89:1 [note: our aspect ratio measuring tool is actually showing 1.90:1, a probably imperceptible difference]. This digital transfer was created in 3K resolution on an Arriscan film scanner from the 16 mm original camera negative. Epidemic is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. This digital transfer was created on an Arriscan film scanner and restored in 3K resolution from the 16 mm original camera negative. Europa is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. This digital transfer was created on an Arriscan film scanner and restored in 4K resolution from the 35 mm original camera negative. The restorations of all three films were undertaken by Zentropa and approved by director Lars von Trier.

Europa is frequently gorgeous looking in this really nice looking transfer. The sumptuous (mostly) black and white cinematography is presented with really secure contrast and admirably deep blacks, both of which combine to offer a suitably surreal ambience that still provides generally great detail levels. Both von Trier and his trio of cinematographers like to play with things like composited effects and rear projection, and elements like that can add "baked in" levels of softness, but as can be pretty easily made out in several of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, despite a presentational style that is almost drowning in darkness (drowning is again a salient term, since this film also relies on at least some water imagery), fine detail is often quite admirable. There are some brief uses of color, though it certainly looks like some of them were composited "old school", meaning there can be a slight loss of overall detail.

Europa Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Europa features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 track in English. Both voiceover like Max von Sydow's sonorous quasi-hypnotist and "traditional" dialogue are offered without any issues, and Joachim Holbek's really beautiful score is also nicely full bodied and problem free. Optional English subtitles are availble.

Europa Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary 1 is from 2005 and features Lars von Trier and Peter Aalbaek Jensen. Subtitled in English.


• Commentary 2 is also from 2005 and features Lars von Trier, Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier. Subtitles in English.


• The Making of Europa (HD; 39:00) is a 1991 documentary.


• Anecdotes from Europa (HD; 20:37) is another 2005 documentary featuring a number of the same talking heads scattered throughout other supplements like Petere Schepelern, including the other Anecdotes offerings. Subtitled in English.


• Lars von Trier - Anecdotes (HD; 16:52) is also from 2005 and focuses on a number of von Trier's collaborators. Subtitled in English.


• The Emotional Music Script for Europa (HD; 11:57) is a 2005 interview with composer Joachim Holbek. Subtitled in English.


• A Conversation with Lars von Trier (HD; 43:49) is a 2005 interview moderated by Bo Green Jensen. Subtitled in English.


• Trier's Element (HD; 43:56) has both an interview with von Trier and footage from the Cannes premiere and press conference in 1991. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 2:44)

Europa Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's probably intentionally meaningful that Kessler works in a sleeping car, since this is another von Trier film that seeks to explore that weird liminal space when dreams and reality interact in unexpected ways. Some of the "meta" elements that were probably too forced in Epidemic are alive and kicking in this film, too, but they're more stylistic than anything this time around, and are therefore probably more effective. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable. Recommended.