Europa Europa (1990)

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 | Nazi | Jewish Boy

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:

Leni: Nobody hits a German woman.

Movie Connections:

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

an incredible life and death adventure

This has absolutely got to be one of the best movies dealing not only with World War II, but also with the Holocaust. It tells a most incredible and almost unbelievable story with so many amazing twists of fate for young Solomon Perel. It is one of the few films that I feel puts a very personal face on what it was like during WW II. If you know German you will find the actual German dialogue to be particularly fascinating, especially the scenes in the elite Hitler Jugend school. The line where he says, "I was very confused..." is the understatement of any film ever made. I consider this film a "MUST SEE" if you are a member of the human race. If you are a student of German or of German history, then it is even more than a "MUST SEE"!