Europa (1991 film)

For the 1931 Surrealist anti-Fascist film, see Europa (1931 film).
Not to be confused with Europa Europa.

Europa
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLars von Trier
Written by
  • Lars von Trier
  • Niels Vørsel
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byHervé Schneid
Music byJoachim Holbek
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Nordisk Film Biografdistribution (Denmark; through Constantin-Fox-Nordisk[4])
  • Svenska Filminstitutet (Sweden)[4]
  • UGC Distribution (France)[5]
  • NEF Filmverleih (Germany)[5]
Release dates
  • 12 May 1991 (1991-05-12) (Cannes)[1]
  • 22 June 1991 (1991-06-22) (Germany)
  • 16 August 1991 (1991-08-16) (Denmark)
  • 13 November 1991 (1991-11-13) (France)
  • 25 November 1991 (1991-11-25) (Sweden)
Running time
114 minutes[6]
Countries
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget
Box office$1 million[7]

Europa (known as Zentropa in North America) is a 1991 experimental psychological drama period film[8][9] directed and co-written by Lars von Trier. An international co-production between Denmark and five other European countries, this is von Trier's third theatrical feature film, and the third and final installment in his Europa trilogy, following The Element of Crime (1984) and Epidemic (1987).[10]

The film features an international ensemble cast, including Germans Barbara Sukowa and Udo Kier, expatriate American Eddie Constantine, and Swedes Max von Sydow and Ernst-Hugo Järegård. This was German-born French-American Jean-Marc Barr's first collaboration of a series of films with von Trier.

Europa was influenced by Franz Kafka's Amerika, and the title was chosen "as an echo" of that novel.[11] The music, including the main theme, was composed by von Trier's then brother-in-law and frequent collaborator Joachim Holbek, who also composed Riget (1991–2022) and Manderlay (2005).

  1. ^ Stevenson, Jack (2002). Lars von Trier. British Film Institute. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-85170-902-4. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Europa (1991)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ^ Lasagna, Roberto; Lena, Sandra (12 May 2003). Lars von Trier. Gremese Editore. p. 123. ISBN 978-88-7301-543-7. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Europa (1991)". Lumiere. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Zentropa (1991)". Unifrance. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "EUROPA (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 25 February 1992. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Zentropa (1992)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  8. ^ Europa (1991), retrieved 13 October 2022
  9. ^ Zentropa (1991) - Lars von Trier | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie, retrieved 13 October 2022
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference festival-cannes.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Lars Von Trier: Interviews, pp. 82-83