Europa Europa

"Europa Europa" (original title "Hitler Youth Soloman") is the story of a Jewish boy who is separated from his family and ends up assuming different identities (including, yes, a Nazi) to stay alive. What makes this film different from all the Holocaust movies I've seen is that it shows the perspective of the other side. This is NOT done in a sympathetic way but in a way that simply shows what was going on amongst the brainwashed youth and how ordinary humans were coerced into doing the most inhuman things.

Our protagonist Soloman (Marco Hofschneider) is played with a wide-eyed innocence, almost like an objective observer, as he navigates the Nazi heirarchy inadvertently making friends wherever he goes. Thus the interesting spin is that the Nazis are shown with more personality than the stone-faced butchers we've come to expect from Holocaust flicks. In fact there is very little Jewish persecution and violence shown since most of the story is set behind the ranks where Soloman is fed the same propaganda and brotherhood that the Hitler youth were fed.

The brutality is clear, and as Soloman rises through the ranks he starts to peel away the truth that, no, Jews are not simply being "relocated to Madagascar". In addition he falls for a girl (Julie Delpy) who is a rabid anti-Semite. So the film ends up posing a very interesting point that's applicable to all our lives, regardless of the WW2 context: What do we do if it turns out that our friends & adoptive family turn out to be vile monsters?

I highly recommend this movie even if you're not interested in war flicks. It's more like a coming of age story but set in the most horrifying chapter of human history.

"Europa Europa" is the sort of film that is filled with so many ridiculous coincidences that it can only be true...which it is! Time and time again, a young Jewish man's life is miraculously saved during the Holocaust and this film is his story.

This film begins in Germany just before WWII breaks out. Salomon Perel and his family are Jews and they leave Germany for safety in Poland. Unfortunately, soon the German army invades and takes Poland...and Salomon and his brother run off to avoid the pograms. Here is where the story starts to get interesting. The brothers get separated and Salomon escapes to the Soviet portion of Poland where he is taken into a communist re-education school. He learns to be the ideal communist. But, the Germans are once again on the move and invade--taking the school and its students. Thinking twice, Salomon concocts a crazy story when he's caught--telling them he's a German orphan and he was forced to go to the school. And, because he doesn't appear Jewish and can understand Russian, the Germans keep him as a sort of mascot in their army. Soon, the soldiers adore him! Later, when he tries to defect back to the Russian lines, through a funny coincidence, it appears he's captured a group of Russian soldiers--and he's an even BIGGER hero to Germany! This is only through about half of the film--the coincidences and difficult to believe situations increase tremendously! Overall, this is an excellent production and a truly unique film. There have been so many Holocaust films that it's nice to see one that is so different. It's interesting from start to finish and I strongly recommend it.

By the way, it's a minor problem but the plane Salomon sees up in the sky late in the film is a VERY modern one--made decades after WWII.

When, this summer, I saw "Saving Private Ryan", I was immediately reminded of this film. Using the same kind of camera angles that got Spielberg praise in "Ryan", we see the hollowness of the war-torn psyche and the brutality that emerges in people during warfare. We see hideous indoctrination that the German youth were subjected to, giving them depth beyond a few simple lines. Most of all, however, we see the absurdity inherent in such a large scale, world-shattering conflict. The film communicates its message with a clarity that makes one almost uneasy. As good as "Ryan" was, this is better.

The print that I saw of this film was stunning. Come to think of it, every aspect of this film was well though out, excellently executed, and just as stunning. And just like any other film that deals with the plight of the Jewish people during WWII, this is not a feel good film that will have you wanting to watch it again and again. Very well made and well acted film.

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.