Rent Europa Europa (1990)
3.7 of 5 from 162 ratings
1h 51min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
As World War II splits Europe, sixteen-year-old German Jew Salomon (Marco Hofschneider) is separated from his family after fleeing with them to Poland, and finds himself reluctantly assuming various ideological identities in order to hide the deadly secret of his Jewishness. He is bounced from a Soviet orphanage, where he plays a dutiful Stalinist, to the Russian front, where he hides in plain sight as an interpreter for the German army, and back to his home country, where he takes on his most dangerous role: a member of the Hitler Youth. Based on the real-life experiences of Salomon Perel, Agnieszka Holland's wartime tour de force 'Europa Europa' is a breathless survival story told with the verve of a comic adventure, an ironic refutation of the Nazi idea of racial purity, and a complex portrait of a young man caught up in shifting historical calamities and struggling to stay alive. - Actors:
- Solomon Perel, Marco Hofschneider, René Hofschneider, André Wilms, Ashley Wanninger, Klaus Abramowsky, Michèle Gleizer, Delphine Forest, Julie Delpy, Hanns Zischler, Martin Maria Blau, Bernhard Howe, Klaus Kowatsch, Holger Kunkel, Halina Labonarska, Andrzej Mastalerz, Nathalie Schmidt, Jorg Schnass, Erich Schwarz, Norbert Schwarz
- Directors:
- Agnieszka Holland
- Producers:
- Artur Brauner, Margaret Ménégoz
- Writers:
- Agnieszka Holland, Solomon Perel
- Aka:
- Europa, Europa
- Studio:
- Optimum
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama
- Collections:
- New waves of Polish Cinema, Top 10 Films By Year, Top Films of 1990: Vol. 2, What to watch by country
- Countries:
- Germany
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not released
- Run Time:
- 112 minutes
- Languages:
- German LPCM Mono, Polish LPCM Mono, Russian LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary from 2008 Featuring Holland
- New Interviews with Holland and Actor Marco Hofschneider
- New Interview with Salomon Perel, on whose autobiography the film is loosely based
- New Video Essay by Film Scholar Annette Insdorf
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Reviews (3) of Europa Europa
A Jewish teenager's epic journey across war-torn Europe and Russia - Europa Europa review by Philip in Paradiso
Solek (Polish nickname for Solomon) and his family live in Germany. The Nazis have taken over. On the eve of Solek's bar mitzvah, Kristallnacht occurs. Solek and his brother leave for the East, hoping to take refuge in the Soviet Union. Soon separated from his brother, Solek is having to survive by all means possible.
The story the film tells is totally extraordinary and quite improbable and would, indeed, seem implausible. And yet, it is based on a true story, that of Solomon Perel, who is still alive (he was born in 1925) and now lives in Israel. Although the movie takes some liberties with the account of his life, given in the autobiographical book he wrote, it is broadly faithful to the chain of events as they happened.
The film grips you because it combines the story of a teenager on the run (Solek) caught up in the murderous 1930s and 1940s in Europe with the broader historical canvas -- the rise of totalitarian systems in Germany, with the Nazis, and in Russia, with Stalin at the head of the Communist regime. You feel you are living through all the traumas that shook Europe at the time, seen through the eyes of a Jewish teenager confronted with the horrors of war and anti-Semitism.
The film is quite unique in many ways and is well-made; it carries profound insights into morality and politics, and what it means to be human. As historical dramas go, it is a masterpiece, in my view. It is a must-see.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Excellent - Europa Europa review by CP Customer
Excellent movie which shows the reality of being Jewish in a very unusual situation in warland Europe.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
How to survive a Holocaust - Europa Europa review by CH
A young Jewish boy, separated from his family and brother whilst fleeing his aggressors, now finds himself precariously hiding from them in plain sight.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.