Europa, Europa

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Europa, Europa

R,

1991,

1h 55m,

History/

Drama/

War

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95%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Jewish teenager Salek (Marco Hofschneider) is separated from his family when they flee their home in Germany after Kristallnacht. He ends up in a Russian orphanage for two years, but when Nazi troops reach Russia he convinces them he is a German Aryan, and becomes an invaluable interpreter and then an unwitting war hero. His deception becomes increasingly difficult to maintain after he joins the Hitler Youth and finds love with beautiful Leni (Julie Delpy), a fervent anti-Semite.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

May 24, 2022

4/4

The overall sweep of Europa Europa as both spectacle and story telling is effortless throughout.

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Stefan Pape

Common Sense Media

Oct 9, 2024

So astonishing is this WWII drama, it is hard to believe it is actually based on real events.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Dec 12, 2022

Agnieszka Holland narrates this incredible, but true, story in the tone of a picaresque adventure. [Full review in Spanish]

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Feb 14, 2020

In a time when nationalism and hatred fuel political campaigns both in the United States and abroad, Europa Europa remains relevant.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jul 20, 2019

3.5/4

Perhaps never before (or since) in film history has circumcision played such a pivotal role in a movie's plotline. Yet that's the almost absurdist thread running throughout Europa Europa.

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Vanessa Letts

The Spectator

Jul 23, 2018

The film leads you to wonder to what extent the hero has been indoctrinated... but the question is raised via the film's deficiencies rather than its merits.

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Anakin W

Jan 11, 2019

A wonderful film, perfectly directed by Agnieszka Holland. One of the best films dealing with the casual horrors and vagaries of life during war.

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Ron G

Apr 16, 2018

Definitely feels a little aged, but it's aged well.

Hermione S

Apr 29, 2009

This story makes me think seriously again of an expedition to the Promised Land and enjoying immersion at a specially chosen kibbutz. Such an intense movie based on the crazy but true story of a brave and resourceful Jewish lad, Solomon, who manages to elude Nazi capture and atrocities by masquerading as an ethnic German living outside Germany. It reminds me of the Biblical story of Joseph because of how Solomon gains so much favor with the Nazis to the point that he gets enrolled in an elite Hitler Youth School in the middle of Nazi Germany (the irony). Ironically, the alias he uses is the name Josef. There's a classic scene in the movie where a Nazi "expert" in Jewish detection is teaching the Nazi youth how to pick out a Jew based on physical traits. The "expert" selects Solomon/Josef as his subject for a demonstration, and after some measurements and observations, pronounces that Solomon/Josef is of "pure Aryan stock" :P Julie Delpy was very impressive playing a female Hitler Youth.

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Hermione R

Jul 5, 2007

Can't really remember this.

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Agnieszka Holland

Director

Marco Hofschneider

Solly (Salomon Perel)

Julie Delpy

Leni

André Wilms

Soldier Robert Kellerman

Ashley Wanninger

Gerd

Hanns Zischler

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Synopsis

Jewish teenager Salek (Marco Hofschneider) is separated from his family when they flee their home in Germany after Kristallnacht. He ends up in a Russian orphanage for two years, but when Nazi troops reach Russia he convinces them he is a German Aryan, and becomes an invaluable interpreter and then an unwitting war hero. His deception becomes increasingly difficult to maintain after he joins the Hitler Youth and finds love with beautiful Leni (Julie Delpy), a fervent anti-Semite.

Director: Agnieszka Holland
Producer: Margaret Ménégoz, Artur Brauner
Screenwriter: Paul Hengge, Agnieszka Holland
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Zespół Filmowy Perspektywa, Les Films du Losange, Telmar Film International Ltd., Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)
Rating: R (Mature Treatment of Holocaust)
Genre: History, Drama, War
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 28, 1991, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Mar 4, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA): $23.2K
Runtime: 1h 55m

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