Rating: 
Summary: This Film is Very Moving
Review: I am not Jewish, but have rarely been sooo moved by a film about WWII. Despite being so young, Marco Hofschneider is an amazingly gifted actor, showing a range of feelings, from dering-do comedy to total desperation. This film will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Rating: 
Summary: Your friend, your enemy, you....
Review: I caught this movie originally on cable a few minutes into the film and was instantly intrigued and completely confused. A Jewish kid in the German Army? And the Hitler Youth? And in love with a German girl who says nice things like 'If there were a Jew here right now, I'd cut his throat!' right before she asks him to father her child. What the hell was going on here?What was going on was 'Europa, Europa', an outstanding and often funny (true) story of a teen of German-Jewish extraction named Jupp who in 1939 was in the Communist Youth League in one of the Soviet-occupied Baltic territories, and ended up being captured by the Germans when they invaded the USSR in 1941. Naturally he concealed his Jewish identity and, believing him to be Volksdeutsch (a non-German of German blood, and therefore automatically a German citizen under Hitler's laws) the Wehrmacht drafted him as a soldier-translator. This begins Jupp's double life....a few months ago he was a Communist and a Jew, and now he's a German and a Nazi....just imagine this kid's confusion. The soldiers of his unit adopt him as a sort of mascot, and even when one of the soldiers discovers his secret, he does not betray him. The mutual affection between Jupp and the soldiers becomes real over time, and leads to Jupp's first crisis of identity: how can he be friends and comrades with men who believe Jews are evil, sub-human scum? Things get even more complicated when the violently anti-Semetic commander of the unit offers to adopt Jupp and send him back to Germany to join a Hitler Youth hostel. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Jupp finds the Hitler Youth both a dream and a nightmare. On the one hand, much of the Nazi propaganda turns out to be true -- the boys are tough, fun-loving, comradely, and loyal. They enjoy their singing, marching, and sports, and they are truly inspired by the destruction of snobbery and class privelege which was a central objective of National Socialism (Nazism). On the other hand, they sing charming songs like "sharpen your knives on the paving stone, the Jewish blood will run" and spend time in class learning to 'spot' Jews and other sub-humans through racial characteristics (Jupp is selected as a good example of Baltic Aryan blood). These kids remind you of darling young tiger cubs that will grow up into man-eaters: they are both charming and frightening. Much of the movie is a black-comic attempt by Jupp to fit in as a loyal German youth while hiding his Jewish identity from his friends, which is tough on account of being circumcised in a society where circumcision was performed only among Jews (there are some lengths Jupp goes to to disguise this fact that will make any man watching EXTREMELY uncomfortable....I kept thinking "God, that poor kid!"). As you can imagine, when he falls for a lovely Arayan maiden, disguising this fact becomes even harder. As the war roars towards its conclusion, Jupp is torn by the loyalty and sense of belonging he feels in the HJ/Nazi Germany and his true identity. After the defeat at Stalingrad, the mourning boys gather and sing poignantly together as brothers, and Jupp mourns with them. The fact that he is clearly not faking shows the turmoil and conflict in his young heart. Is he Jupp, the Jew, or Jupp, the Nazi? "Europa, Europa" is different from 'Holocaust' type movies in that it injects a lot of humor into otherwise horrible situations without cheapening what happened. This is an undeniably tragic and moving film; it is also pretty damn funny. But it will also make you mad, and the really infuriating thing for the viewer is the colossal waste of it all -- the movie shows how the egalitarian ideals of National Socialism inspired, moved, and united young people, but was perverted by race hatred, anti-Semetism, and bloodlust, and ulyimately had to be destroyed at a terrible cost to everybody involved. What a stupid, criminal waste of millions of able young men, who were taught to hate people really no different than themselves. What a pity the Germans chose to forget the many Jews who served ably and courageously for their country in World War I, and bought into Hitler's insane hatred of them, a hatred which was not only stupid but hypocritical. After all, the man who in 1917 or so recommended a young Corporal Hitler for his Iron Cross First Class was a lieutnant named Hugo Gutmann....but somehow I'm willing to bet that fact never came up in any Hitler Youth class. Too bad for Jupp, and too bad for Europa.
Rating:
Summary: The book is incredible enough -- the movie overdoes it
Review: I have now read the book and seen the film. The film is well-done overall (although the dream sequences added nothing) with excellent acting. However, as is often the case, the film resorts to some "over the top" plot changes at the end which were neither true to the book nor necessary to make it a great story. Solly in reality survives through a combination of luck, wits, and acting ability. In the movie, Solly deserts his Nazi unit and surrenders to the Russians, who do not believe that he is Jewish and invite a Jewish camp inmate to shoot him. As he stands with the revolver in his face he is recognized by his older brother and is thus saved by the skin of his teeth. In reality Solly is liberated from the Nazis in an undramatic fashion by the Americans and is saved from being killed simply because the Americans didn't shoot Hitler Youth. He meets up with his brother later, after he is quite safe. This final coincidence in the movie is simply too much and spoils what is otherwise a fine production. Movie-makers need to learn when to leave well enough alone. This made up deux ex machina is simply an insult to the viewer -- because the real story is incredible enough!!
Rating:
Summary: The book is incredible enough -- the movie overdoes it
Review: I have now read the book and seen the film. The film is well-done overall (although the dream sequences added nothing) with excellent acting. However, as is often the case, the film resorts to some "over the top" plot changes at the end which were neither true to the book nor necessary to make it a great story. Solly in reality survives through a combination of luck, wits, and acting ability. In the movie, Solly deserts his Nazi unit and surrenders to the Russians, who do not believe that he is Jewish and invite a Jewish camp inmate to shoot him. As he stands with the revolver in his face he is recognized by his older brother and is thus saved by the skin of his teeth. In reality Solly is liberated from the Nazis in an undramatic fashion by the Americans and is saved from being killed simply because the Americans didn't shoot Hitler Youth. He meets up with his brother later, after he is quite safe. This final coincidence in the movie is simply too much and spoils what is otherwise a fine production. Movie-makers need to learn when to leave well enough alone. This made up deux ex machina is simply an insult to the viewer -- because the real story is incredible enough!!
Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: I saw the movie and was impressed. A boy can go from being a common Jewish citizen to a Soviet Communist and then a Nazi. Talk about bouncing back and forth on the political spectrum. The movie had a excessive nudity, I thought. If it were an American film, it would need to be cleaned up to make PG-13. Do Germans have such usual Sexual pleasures? :)
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary film!
Review: I saw this film once on TV several years ago. All I remember now is that it was extremely intense and very captivating. I have desperately been trying to find it, and now I finally have!
Rating:
Summary: Finally on DVD
Review: I showed this film to my classes when I was a high school German teacher, and they always enjoyed it. The true story of a courageous young man's harrowing trip through the ever-shifting, uncertain days of WWII in Poland and Russia. He has to be one of the luckiest or unluckiest figures of WWII, depending on your take on the measures he must go to in order to survive. This film really put Agnieszka Holland's on the map as a director. Marco Hofschneider's performance is brilliant. A deadly serious subject that is softened with delightful, light-hearted moments, "Europa, Europa" is not to be missed. A must-see for those who enjoyed Polanski's "The Pianist."
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Movie
Review: I thought this movie was great and is a most see film. I highly recommended,too bad is not out on DVD. Why isn't it out on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: A Must See
Review: I was forced to view this movie as a requirement for an undergraduate history class. I have never been excited about foreign films but nevertheless viewed the film. To my suprise Europa, Europa was an incredible account of a young man's life in World War II. This movie changed my perspective on both the Holocaust and foreign films. A rememberable movie and one that everyone should see.
Rating:
Summary: I recommend it to everyone!
Review: I was introduced to this film in my German class, although I had thought to check it out years before after seeing it recommended in Seventeen Magazine. Since then I have seen it more times than I can count because I always end up telling my friends to watch it, and then we end up watching it together because I don't want anyone to lose it (and I do loan out all my other videos). This is a TRUE story of incredible luck (so incredible as to be quite unbelievable) and pluck through a very dark time in history. If it weren't for so many coincidences, Solomon Perel would not be around to tell his amazing story. You might recognize Julie Delpy (who plays Leni, the Nazi girlfriend) from French flims such as "White" and American films such as "Before Sunrise" and "An American Werewolf in Paris". She does a fine job here, as does the handsome young Marco Hofschneider in his role as Solly. (What other films is he in and where can I get them?, I sometimes ask myself...) If you are trying to learn German, watch it first with the subtitles, and then on the second viewing, try taping some paper over the subtitles on your tv screen (of course you should take the paper off during the part in Russian, unless of course you also happen to be studying Russian). If you are at least an intermediate German student, you will gain a lot from such a viewing. The language is clearly spoken, and not overly difficult. I have done this several times myself, and have found it incredibly helpful. There are a couple of scenes that may be offensive to sensitive people, and if you think of showing it in an American classroom, those are the parts you'll be forced to fast forward... (my German teacher found this out the hard way, but fortunatly there were only 4 of us in the class, and none of us complained). Overall, very highly recommended!
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