December 8, 2022
FILM: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
DIRECTED BY: EDWARD BERGER
STARRING FELIX KAMMERER, ALBRECHT SCHUCH, DANIEL BRUHL
RATING: 3 ½ OUT OF 4 STARS
By Dan Pal
It’s been over a hundred years since the end of World War 1. Three years ago, director Sam Mendes received great acclaim for his film 1917 which focused on a particular moment in the war. That film ultimately won three Oscars and renewed some interest in WW1 that was fast becoming lost to history. Now comes All Quiet on the Western Front, one of the many remakes of the classic Oscar-winning Best Picture from 1930 which was made just twelve years after the war had ended. The original was probably one of the best war films ever made and a personal favorite of my own. While it was based on an anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque, the film was also celebrated for its use of sound and visual techniques only then coming into their own in the new “talkie” era.
It’s hard to argue with again remaking the near 100-year old film. First off, this is the first time the story has been told from a German filmmaker. Second, the sentiment surrounding the war is likely lost on a generation that currently avoids black and white, international, or for that matter, war films and stories. This one begins in 1917 with the war already in progress. Young German men are being sold the idea that war is an honor. Teen-aged boys in Germany gladly embrace this decree and wholeheartedly agree to enlist. With smiles on their faces and reverence for the country in their hearts, the new young soldiers head off to the front in France where their destinies will be forever altered.
Some young people today might wonder why these guys were so gung ho about serving in a war. Of course, this was well before the internet, video games, television, and movies were a part of our culture warning us about the power of evil foes. Very quickly the soldiers find themselves in the famous trenches of the war with rain, bombs, and gunfire all around them. The initial thrill of going into battle begins to wane as buddies and fellow soldiers are brutally killed.
These early scenes are powerful and quite gruesome at times, although they do feel a bit stagey and artificial compared to some of the later settings used in the film. Still, the scenes are filled with falling debris, screams, rats, and complete pandemonium. We begin to see how frightened many of the young men are as the reality around them sets in.
Then there’s a jump in time to 1918. Have the men changed? Are they disillusioned? Interestingly they’ve become a bit entrenched in the culture. The down times, discussions, and waiting serve to further bond those that are still left to fight. These scenes are fine but carry nowhere near the emotional weight and horror that the many battle scenes include. German director Edward Berger does an outstanding job of mirroring some of the classic tracking shots that made the original film so memorable. The effects are top-notch and the scenes are relentless in their depiction of brutality and the increasing manner in which the soldiers become machine-like killers themselves.
There’s no question that the film illustrates the psychological horror of war and its many effects on soldiers. So, what does it tell us today? What have we learned about World War 1 and war in general? There isn’t a lot of detail about how this particular war started, why the fighting was occurring, and why America got involved. It does tell us that war generals and politicians sat in their finely decorated train offices, eating the best of food, trying to come up with ceasefire plans while so many innocent men die. Any of this should be relatable to our world today that has continued to find itself in war after war in the past one hundred years. Maybe we haven’t learned anything. Sadly, the beast that is man may just be programmed to accept this approach to international conflicts. And that is exactly why people need to see this film. We need to be reminded that there is ultimately no honor or glamor in war. People lose friends, family members, homes, and perhaps most importantly, their souls in the face of such horrific strife. Maybe, just maybe, there will be people out there who see the film and might think twice before encouraging or participating in any future wars. Maybe.
All Quiet on the Western Front is Germany’s submission for this year’s Best International Film Oscar. It is currently streaming on Netflix.