Europa Europa (1990)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Agnieszka Holland

Writers:

Paul Hengge (additional material)
Agnieszka Holland (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 1990 (France)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

A boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.

Plot Keywords:

Hitler Youth | Jewish | German | Jewish Boy | Nazi

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Marco Hofschneider	...	Salomon 'Solly' 'Salek' Perel / Josef 'Jupp' Peters
Julie Delpy	...	Leni
René Hofschneider	...	Isaak Perel - Salomons brother
Piotr Kozlowski	...	David Perel - Salomons brother
André Wilms	...	Soldier Robert Kellerman
Ashley Wanninger	...	Gerd
Halina Labonarska	...	Leni's Mother
Klaus Abramowsky	...	Solomon's Father
Michèle Gleizer	...	Solomon's Mother
Marta Sandrowicz	...	Bertha Perel - Salomons sister
Nathalie Schmidt	...	Basia - Cinema cashier
Delphine Forest	...	Inna Moyseyevna
Martin Maria Blau	...	Ulmayer
Andrzej Mastalerz	...	Zenek Dracz
Solomon Perel	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Europa Europe (USA)
Hitlerjunge Salomon (Germany)

Runtime:

112 min | 107 min

Country:

Germany | France | Poland

Language:

German | Russian | Polish | Hebrew

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lódz, Poland

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Trivia:

The film met with a lukewarm reception in its native Germany, with the local media being less than complementary about it. The German Oscar selection committee did not even include it as a submission for that year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Much embarrassment ensued when it went on to become one of the most successful German films ever released in the US, winning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At one point Salomon narrowly misses being killed in an air-raid, which kills his room mate. Rather than show a World War II aircraft, or even a bomber, however, stock footage shows a single C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, which was not even designed until many years after the war.

Quotes:

Inna: [while having sex with Solly] Mein Führer!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Amazing but true tale of strength and the will to live

This story is made even more amazing since it is based on fact. The real Solomon Perel has quite a story to tell. I have also read the book, and the movie is a bit factually inaccurate, but it is still tremendously well-made.

Young Solly is played by a beautiful young actor named Marco Hoffschneider. His good looks and charm are part of what get him to convince the Gestapo that he is not a Jew, but an ethnic German. But Solly has much more getting him through this ordeal. His determination and strength of spirit, plus blinding will to live, and perhaps the youthful exuberance of being able to accomplish it, help him to pull off the charade. The young boy speaks several languages, and is able to use this skill to convince Nazi soldiers that he is not Jewish. The soldiers adopt him as a sort of "mascot." Solly is careful not to show his circumcised penis to anyone, including the German girl he falls in love with. Fate is also on his side, since several times when it seemed he might be found out, the hand of a higher power intervenes.

This is an engrossing film, sad and funny. Perhaps Solomon Perel is ashamed that he lived with the enemy to save his life, but, he is alive today to tell his story. The real Solomon Perel makes a brief appearance at the end.