The final installment of von Trier's Europa trilogy is a visually resplendent, ambitiously allegoric, and altogether enthralling odyssey into post-war Germany. Combining the saturated palettes of The Element of Crime with the amateur monochrome of Epidemic, Europa is, on a visual level, very much the sum of its preceding parts. It's interesting to see colour and black and white enmeshed so experimentally, and while at times the visual flourishes can prove distracting, it's hard not to appreciate their uniqueness. Looking (and indeed sounding) alternatively like an Old Hollywood melodrama and a European art house piece, Europa functions on the same metatextual level as Epidemic with much more success, demonstrating the multitudinous ways a single story can find expression. Maybe a stretch too long, the story doesn't quite manage to maintain the interest throughout, but the fascinating opening scene (among the best I've witnessed) and the hypnotic mystique of the lush cinematography make this a terrific end to a most original triptych.