Film Noir Motif in Lars Von Trier 's Europa Film Review

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 664 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 2

EuropaThe film Europa by Lars Trier uses the film noir style to create an aesthetic of moral ambiguity, guilt, and innocence: the theme of the film is found in the overwhelming interplay of these three components—moral ambiguity, guilt, and innocence. Leo represents innocence and naivety. He is plunked into Germany in 1945 as though by the persuasive powers of narrative voice alone. The film is bookended by a hypnotic sequence, the first setting the viewer on a railroad track racing ahead into Europa; the second setting the viewer in the sinking sleeper with Leo as it fills with water and we are told that we will be dead by the count of 10. Trier as an auteur commands the narrative and the spectacle in this way: he is deliberately making a point about the complexities of the film noir tradition and how it raises such overwhelming questions. For a truly innocent character like Leo, the only logical outcome is that innocence will drown.The priest tells Leo in the first part of the film that God is on both sides of the war and that the only thing God disapproves of is lukewarmness—i.e., an unwillingness to commit oneself.

Stuck Writing Your "Film Noir Motif in Lars Von Trier 's Europa" Film Review?

View All Our Example Film Noir Motif in Lars Von Trier 's Europa Film Review

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Leo is seduced by the femme fatale Katharina. She confesses that she is a former werewolf of the Germany Party, and it is quite…

[…… parts of this paper are missing, click here to view the entire document ]

…hand, he is dead, killed by Europa’s pushing and pulling in so many directions. On the other hand, in death he is freed from this push and pull. He is born away by the waters, which could represent some kind of spiritual solace, as water is something that cleanses, i.e., in baptism. Yet the narrator’s voice also disarmingly tells the viewer and Leo that one cannot wake up and be free of Europa. Is the voice of the narrator that of the devil? Is it some hateful voice that has seduced Leo from the beginning? These questions play into the moral ambiguity of the film and of the film noir genre in….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Film Noir Motif In Lars Von Trier 's Europa" (2022, April 19) Retrieved May 18, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/film-noir-motif-lars-von-trier-europa-2179980

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Film Noir Motif In Lars Von Trier 's Europa" 19 April 2022. Web.18 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/film-noir-motif-lars-von-trier-europa-2179980>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Film Noir Motif In Lars Von Trier 's Europa", 19 April 2022, Accessed.18 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/film-noir-motif-lars-von-trier-europa-2179980
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example