Europa Europa and Olivier Olivier Analysis
Both Europa, Europa and Olivier, Olivier have shown how the uniqueness of man can reproduce the real into existence and use it to the benefit or harm of self and others. These two movies transform how through the man's identity, he is able to recognize and take action into how what man sees in his reality that forms the identity of man. How Solomon Perel and Olivier adapt to the reality and transform themselves physically to survive and to give hope with their relationships while maintaining a sense of mental balance of what they are living out and what they truly are. In Europa, Europa, the opening scenes of the drowning person and Solomon's memoir of his circumcision at the beginning of the movie encapsulates how Solomon's identity is defined through the Jewish culture and beliefs and how this haunts him throughout his teenage life. His circumcision is instilled as a pivotal part of his identity and finds it difficult to escape from it. The drowning scene represented Solomon's suppression of his identity to survive through adaptability. That identity is drowned to be hidden from the eyes of reality. Notice also that in this scene someone has tried to save the drowning man but he rejected the help. A matter of mind over heart wherein Solomon could not bear anymore to survive by denying his own human identity as a Jew but had to no other choice but to continue living a blind identity he had not truly want. Solomon's circumcision as an infant demonstrates how it is the source that affects his entire life. The scene where Solomon's genital is shown and his nudity elaborates how his identity has been affected through the changes that he has undergone to survive and to satisfy his cravings. This nudity is necessary to depict the joyful Solomon in his bathtub during the opening scenes and to the painful experiences Solomon endures when he tried to hide his identity by trying to fix his genital. This is also a desperate attempt to have Leni for