Europa (2008)

An American-born German pacifist (Jean-Marc Barr) takes a job as a sleeping-car conductor in post–World War II Frankfurt in a misguided attempt to help rebuild the motherland, then falls hard for his employer's vampy separatist daughter (Barbara Sukowa). Director Lars von Trier's trippy thriller lets bits of color occasionally seep into the black-and-white cinematography and uses rear projection to make the bombed-out landscape look almost sci-fi. Europa is one part Casablanca, two parts Eraserhead, and all parts excellent. The stacked Criterion Collection EXTRAS include three docs, actor interviews, and audio commentary by von Trier. A