EUROPA EUROPA

The title by which the film was released internationally, EUROPA EUROPA, underscores how divided the continent was during World War II. In both systems – as a conformist child in an orphanage under Communism and as a model Hitler Youth named Jupp Peters under National Socialism – the boy, fluent in both German and Russian, is able to deceive his way through the Nazi era. And yet he is at constant risk of being discovered since he’s circumcised. Every one of adolescent’s erotic liaisons carries a life-threatening risk.

Perel didn't reveal his secrets until 1985. German producer Artur Brauner was able to convince the Polish exile Agnieszka Holland to film the story in the form of a dramatic, fast-paced international co-production. It broke with the distressful tone characteristic of many films about the Shoah and provoked critics with its tragicomic story of an anti-hero who resorts to radical means to adapt to his surroundings and, ultimately, to survive.

Text: Rainer Mende

Sun 09.11. I 15:30 I OBENKINO I German OV