Europa Page #2

Synopsis: An American of German descent arrives in post-war Germany 1945. His uncle gets him a job on the Zentropa train line as a sleeping car conductor. The American's wish is to be neutral to the ongoing purges of loyalists by the Allied forces and do what he can to help a hurting country, but he finds himself being used by both the Americans and the influential family that owns the railroad. After falling in love with the railroad magnate's daughter, he finds that he can't remain neutral and must make some difficult choices.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Lars von Trier
Production: Criterion Collection
  16 wins & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.7
Rotten Tomatoes:
85%
R
Year:
1991
112 min
1,307 Views


what are you doing here?

I'm a sleeping car conductor.

I'm just trying to understand why a

young American

wants to play tourist in these sad

surroundings.

I understand you refused to be a

soldier?

I had to come here.

Why?

I believe my taking on a job

as a a civilian here,

is a small contribution to making

the world a better place.

It's time someone showed this

country a little kindness.

Why Herr Kessler,

you are a true idealist.

Are you laughing at me?

No, I'm smiling because what you

say seems to come from far away.

What's this?

Partisans. Executed by your

countrymen, I believe.

But I thought the war was over.

Some would rather fight

a lost battle.

Will that be all?

No, please, stay.

Please, sit here.

We are approaching a tunnel.

It's ridiculous, I've been on trains

all my life, but...

I'm so frightened of tunnels.

Could I persuade you to stay until

we've passed through?

Once the electric light went out

Give us a hand!

I must have fallen asleep.

It's very embarrasing.

You see, normally I have problems

falling asleep.

But when I hear the sound of the

wheels on the tracks

I become drowsy and I fall

asleep for a while,

and when I wake up, I'm ice cold.

It's frightening.

And then there's the feeling that

I don't know

in which direction

the train is moving.

I don't know if we're going

forwards or backwards.

Or what I thought forward has

suddenly become backwards.

Know what I mean?

Let me tell you, it's most frightening.

My dear uncle.

What's happened seems to me

to be a simple switch.

You lost track of things for

a moment.

and it was then the train was just

turned around.

You see?

It's easily explained.

Young Kessler, you are a fool!

You have travelled through

the German nght.

You have met the German grl.

On the street above t s daylght.

But as you go on wth your job

n car 2306

there s lttle to see.

Go deeper.

On the count of three

there wll be a message for you

of great mportance.

One.

Two.

Three.

Wake up! Wake up!

Leo, you have to hurry!

This invitation

came by messenger.

I don't know why but you're

invited to dinner at 7 p.m.

at the home of the Hartmann family.

You're already late.

Naturally I'll accompany you.

An invitation like this is

a great honour.

I demand that you behave correctly.

It's of the utmost importance.

The Hartmann family founded

Zentropa in 1912.

My nephew, Leopold Kessler,

has been invited for dinner at 7 pm.

He is alone to blame for his tardiness.

I turn him over to you and will myself

wait in the kitchen.

-They've already sat down to dinner.

-Thank you.

"...at the right hour you feed them.

You open your hand and bless all

that dwells there".

- Amen.

- Amen.

Our guest has arrived.

I'm so sorry I'm late.

Never excuse yourself.

Life is too short for that.

Kat tells me you've just joined

our company.

I'm very pleased.

Father's glad you're an American.

He'd like for Zentropa to be an

international company.

As Germans are ill-regarded now.

Rubbish, Larry! Let us eat.

-My sister's got her eye on you.

-Larry!

Calm down, both of you.

It's very brave of you, Herr Kessler,

to come to Germany at this time.

A great tragedy has befallen this

part of the world.

Are you a catholic, Mr. Kessler?

What kind of a question is that to put

to our guest.

I'm affraid I'm not very religious.

Herr Kessler is a sensible young man.

He realizes that if the scars

of the war are to heal,

we have to turn to each other.

My sister says you're a deserter.

In my father's opinion, so am I.

That's enough, Larry!

My son was too ill to join the service.

My illness!

The illness my father's never

understood.

He thinks it stems from my mother

spoiling me till the day she died.

Excuse me.

I must excuse my son's behaviour.

I thought you didn't like excuses.

Dammit!

Excuse me, Father.

In war, life is ever so simple.

The problems arise afterwards.

-Don't you agree, Father?

-Yes.

Religion may play a great part

in times of war,

but more so when

the silence of arms

toys with our peace of mind.

When we pray to God

in times of war

we can rely on his support if only

we have faith in our cause.

Excuse me, Father,

but what about the other side?

The enemy believes as much

in his cause.

Why of course, Herr Kessler.

God is on everybodys side.

But when you fight for a cause

with all your heart,

God finds it easier to forgive

if you thereby disobey

his commands.

And who doesn't God forgive?

The unbelievers.

The lukewarm ones

who don't take sides.

They are condemned to eternal

wandering.

He has no mercy on them,

Herr Kessler.

"So because thou art lukewarm,

I will spee thee out of my mouth".

They're just about to blast!

The Allies are blowing up

cranes in Westhafen.

They're dismantling.

Dismantling?

They want to prevent another

German military power from arising.

So they're destroying everything

that might be of use for that.

I fail to see how the few cranes

we have left

might pose a threat.

The food supply situation

will become even worse.

You're so naive, Kat!

The cranes are loading coal

for IG-Farben.

The Americans are clever.

They get hold

of the chemical patents

and then they destroy the plants

to prevent any further production.

All in the name

of demilitarization.

I really admire the Americans.

Mr. Kessler?

Did you know that many factories

in Germany

were owned by Americans

during the war?

The Pater is praying for Mariakirche

in Westhafen,

so that the explosions

may not harm it.

That was that.

You may bring the coffee now.

-May I call you Leopold?

-Of course, sir.

You must understand,

Herr Leopold,

our family has always treasured

international contacts.

Pay us a visit now and again.

How about dinner on Friday?

I'm affraid that's one of your fellow

Americans at the door.

Just a mnute, please.

I'm sure you'll like Alex.

We studied together in Berlin

and now he's back in Germany.

-Colonel Harris.

-Welcome, Alex.

Max, you must fill in

this questionaire.

May I introduce to you one

of your countrymen

who has just been employed

in our company.

Mr. Leopold Kessler,

Herr Alexander Harris.

How do you do?

In fact it's actually Leo

I came to meet.

I understand you're

of German descent.

I'd be the last one to blame

you for that.

You meet so many sensible

Germans these days.

It's been a pleasant evening,

Herr Hartmann.

I have to go and check up on the

church before curfew.

I'm affraid we won't have time for

a game of chess tonight, Colonel.

-Coffee, Alex?

-No, no, later.

I've got some information on you.

I know about your AWOL.

I have come to ask you to do us

a small favour.

What's that?

Well, your job with the railways

could be an advantage to us.

I don't know what you've heard

about the "Werewolves",

but you should know that sabotage

is still going on

as well as liquidations of Germans

who cooperate with the Allies.

All I'm asking you to do is

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Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter with a prolific and controversial career spanning almost four decades. His work is known for its genre and technical innovation; confrontational examination of existential, social, and political issues; and his treatment of subjects such as mercy, sacrifice, and mental health.Among his more than 100 awards and 200 nominations at film festivals worldwide, von Trier has received: the Palme d'Or (for Dancer in the Dark), the Grand Prix (for Breaking the Waves), the Prix du Jury (for Europa), and the Technical Grand Prize (for The Element of Crime and Europa) at the Cannes Film Festival. In March 2017, he began filming The House That Jack Built, an English-language serial killer thriller.Von Trier is the founder and shareholder of the international film production company Zentropa Films, which has sold more than 350 million tickets and garnered seven Academy Award nominations over the past 25 years. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Europa" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/europa_7775>.

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