Cheap Zentropa (Video) (Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier) (Lars von Trier) Price

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Customer Reviews of Zentropa

A milestone in cinema, a gravestone for the human condition
Zentropa is simply the greatest film since "Citizen Kane." An American works as a sleeping-car conductor on a German railroad in late 1945. Viewers should note carefully the course of a dinner conversation early on in the film where neutrality is condemned by a priest: this is the theme of the film, with a profound relevance to today's political events. Try as he might, the American's attempts to be a understanding "nice guy" serve only to tighten the noose. Yet to be passionate and follow one's beliefs wherever they lead is shown to lead to disaster as well. We are doomed to go through the night of mass murder and war if we are to see the light of day.

The cinematography, utterly commensurate with the claustrophobic theme, brilliant in its conception, an encyclopedia of noire technique; most of the acting; and the conclusion, rivetingly harrowing as any in cinema--all come together in a magnificent work of art that belongs on the shelf of anyone who understands the power of cinema to speak to the heart and mind co-equally.

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Zentropa
The best film that Lars von Trier directed, better than the more well known films"Breaking the Waves"&"Dancer in the Dark".Although the critics didn't pick it up, this film,I believe, must have been influenced by Herman Melville. It has the theme of an innocent man who ends up dead under the water due to his hubris and naivete. It tells the story of Kessler, an American who makes the fateful decision to become a sleeping car conductor in 1945 Germany. He is beset by his cranky uncle who is his superior at work, he is seduced by asympathizing femme fatale, among other events. The movie has both substance and style and is never short of fascinating due both to its plot as well as the directorial technique. The performances are outstanding. It is highly recommended.

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TOO CONVOLUTED TO ENTHRALL, BUT TOO BEAUTIFUL TO IGNORE
In his typical scattered narrative, von Trier crafts a hypnotic tale of an American in the post-WWII rubble of Germany, as he gets entangled with a stunning local woman. Problem is, the woman is revealed to have been a dangerous operative during the war with far-from-simple roots.

Sounds like a fairly comprehensible theme to wrap a thriller around, but no, not under the sly lens of von Trier! His screenplay copiously employs his characteristic symbolism, effortlessly morphing between black & white and technicolor, using double-exposures, backprojections, and some fascinating trick photography such as superimpositions.

The resulting murky, obscure atmosphere of psychological disorientation may lead a casual viewer to much the same frustrations as the film's protagonist -- of never quite finding a footing in the surrealistic, trancy goings-on.

But if you prefer ambitious enigmas to lacklustre boxoffice hits, then give this truly challenging film a chance.