Europe

In 1945, young Leopold Kessler arrives in Europe from the USA and takes up a position with the railroad company Zentropa. An entire country pretends that the last twelve years have not happened. No matter where Leopold looks from the train: Everyone is trying to obscure the truths of war, destruction and the Shoah. Lower the blinds, please look away! Leopold's love for Kat, the daughter of the owner of the Zentropa, is also overshadowed by her connection to National Socialist terror. In the midst of a theater of reconciliation staged on a grand scale, Leopold loses his way more and more in the heart of darkness. With Europa, Lars von Trier has created one of the most apt portraits of Germany's questionable handling of its Nazi past. We follow his main character Leopold, spellbound, deeper and deeper into the darkest chapter of European history. On this evening, Dutch director Mart van Berckel takes us on a trip into the psyche of the civilizational rupture with orchestral repertoire ranging from late Romantic composers to works by the post-war avant-garde.