The German moral tragedy of the Nazi era is obscured by the movie's ostentatious arsenal of tricks and toys.

The narrative is told in a deliberately disjointed style by the film's Danish director, Lars Von Trier, whose strength is in the film's astonishing visuals.

For all its technical and aesthetic brilliance, Europa remains a rather cold and distant film, one that is easy to appreciate, but difficult to love.

Everything comes together beautifully.