All Quiet on the Western Front of course originated as a German novel written by Erich Maria Remarque about World War I published in 1928. The 1930 American film adaptation was a landmark release both for its use of sound following the introduction of that technology and for its anti-war depiction of warfare. Perhaps eerily and worryingly considering the current state of the world and what happened in the decade following the first film adaptation, a new version is now streaming on Netflix, this time produced by Germany itself. It follows the journey of Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) on the Western Front of World War I as he and his company experience the horrors of war.
This film is a complete and thorough treatise on the cyclical, streamlined lethality of war and the machinery that supports it, from its opening shot to its last, a stunning achievement from its director/co-writer Edward Berger. The decision to begin the film following a young soldier named Heinrich (Jakob Schmidt) on the battlefield who quickly meets his demise may seem curious at first, but as All Quiet continues, the clear through line is the film’s theme regarding the continuous nature of slaughter during World War I. As quickly as Heinrich and his regimen are killed, another new regimen of soldiers is trained to take their place, somewhat literally in Paul’s case once the audience is shown the origins of his ill-fitting uniform, with most doomed to the same fate. It’s a machine that grinds its participants and is hard to shut down with the director viscerally showing the audience how the sausage is made than telling them outright. The depiction of the cycle through the military lives and experiences playing out directly onscreen serves to make the point that much more impactful than any overt anti-war dialogue or speech, which All Quiet does not contain much of, if any.
Berger also takes great care to put a point of emphasis on juxtaposing the brutality experienced by the soldiers with the relaxed, and sometimes opulent, debates between military officers and politicians over the continuance of the war. Frequently, a bloody battle sequence is immediately followed by uniformed officers in high class settings, eating caviar and debating whether or not moving forward with a ceasefire is appropriate or if a continuance of the fighting is needed for national pride. The story being split between one group of young men, desperate for food and quality gear marching toward death and another group of elder men, surrounded by luxury and fighting a ceasefire encapsulates the fragility of a soldier’s life on the razor’s edge; pawns in a game between the powerful. As thousands die weekly, their fate rests at the tip of a pen. The editing utilized to intersperse these two perspectives in service of the film’s theme is expertly executed and should place All Quiet in the top tier for awards in the category.
The warfare itself is well depicted in the film, executed in such a raw, brutal way that the audience feels as if its watching actual battles, complimenting its statement on the agony of war. The camera is weaves through the trenches and No Man’s Land as the soldiers that survive bombardment are forced to kill each other up close and personal. The aggressive determination to kill lest you be killed and the fear the soldiers exhibit as they fight to survive one more day drive home the unfairness of it all, with the pointless usually followed by the hemming and hawing of the Generals. The effect that serving has on Paul is worn on his face, a testament to All Quiet’s makeup team. We see the young man go from bright-eyed and enthusiastic to very sullen with a sunken and haunted face. It is through his appearance that viewers are physically shown how war makes monsters of men.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a remarkable achievement that takes what worked in both the novel and the famed 1930 film adaptation and updates it for modern times. Writer/director Edward Berger’s craftsmanship in this film is striking, turning the horrors of war into a visceral experience. Berger does this not just through gory battle scenes, but taking us through the full process of war, from the frontlines to the negotiating table, depicting how the lives of the young and naive are left to the whims of older, wealthier men who view them as little more than chess pieces on a board. It also touches upon the lasting legacy of war as we see how the insistence of the winning French side on humiliating the Germans will inevitably lead to the next Great War we all know followed soon after. The editing and cinematography serve the film’s message well, working in perfect concert and making the experience that much more impactful. This is a film that is a quality heir to what came before.
Image: Netflix
