Europa Europa

Brilliant, biting, bitterly funny epic about a Jewish teenager's stranger-than-fiction adventures during World War II. [28 June 1991, p.22]

There are a great many movies about the tragic experience of the Jews during the Second World War, but only a handful as passionate, as subtly intelligent, as universal as this one. In Europa Europa, Agnieszka Holland tackles a great theme and, in the process, has made a great movie.

As no other Holocaust film quite has, Europa, Europa, with dreamlike clarity, refuses to let us forget that hate works. And that self-hate works even better. [19 July 1991, p.23]

Europa, Europa isn’t the wrenching emotional saga it might have been. Read full review

The execution could be improved, but the sheer zip of the real life story just about carries this wartime tale along. Read full review

Europa Europa is a compelling story told with intelligence and wit. Holland's direction, and the acting by the ensemble cast, are superb. Read full review

In recreating the fantastic adventures of Solomon Perel, director Agnieszka Holland not only shows a lively appreciation for his anguish and his adolescent desires, but she also illuminates the mentality of mass ideological movements -- both fascist and Communist. That is a large order and Holland, a Polish-born, Paris-based director, carries it out with acute, ironic flair. [03 July 1991, p.E3]

This man whose family was almost entirely wiped out must feel like he's the recipient of a great cosmic joke, with his survival as the punch line. Europa Europa does justice to the joke. Read full review

This film includes several remarkable episodes illustrating the strange events that shaped Mr. Perel's destiny and the full force of his terror and sorrow. Read full review

Holland takes a more prosaic approach, but the ironies bite hard, and occasional farcical moments add an unsettling edge to Perel's fortunes. Holland plays on the paradox of role-playing with moderation, but the moral uncertainties of Perel's survival are no less dizzying for all that. Read full review

As a personal, autobiographical tale, Europa Europa is a fascinating narrative. As a historical memoir, its details are compelling. Read full review

The problem is, Europa is episodic rather than cumulative. Europa is about the highlights in Solly's wartime life. But it's not about Solly. Read full review