Europa (1991 film)

Europa
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLars von Trier
Written by
  • Lars von Trier
  • Niels Vørsel
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byHervé Schneid
Music byJoachim Holbek
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Nordisk Film Biografdistribution (Denmark; through Constantin-Fox-Nordisk)
  • Svenska Filminstitutet (Sweden)
  • UGC Distribution (France)
  • NEF Filmverleih (Germany)
Release dates
  • 12 May 1991 (1991-05-12) (Cannes)
  • 22 June 1991 (1991-06-22) (Germany)
  • 16 August 1991 (1991-08-16) (Denmark)
  • 13 November 1991 (1991-11-13) (France)
  • 25 November 1991 (1991-11-25) (Sweden)
Running time
114 minutes
Countries
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • France
  • Germany
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget
Box office$1 million

Europa (known as Zentropa in North America) is a 1991 experimental psychological drama period film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier. An international co-production between Denmark and five other European countries, this is von Trier's third theatrical feature film, and the third and final installment in his Europa trilogy, following The Element of Crime (1984) and Epidemic (1987).

The film features an international ensemble cast, including Germans Barbara Sukowa and Udo Kier, expatriate American Eddie Constantine, and Swedes Max von Sydow and Ernst-Hugo Järegård. This was German-born French-American Jean-Marc Barr's first collaboration of a series of films with von Trier.

Europa was influenced by Franz Kafka's Amerika, and the title was chosen "as an echo" of that novel. The music, including the main theme, was composed by von Trier's then brother-in-law and frequent collaborator Joachim Holbek, who also composed Riget (1991–2022) and Manderlay (2005).