All Quiet on the Western Front Reviews

Edward Berger directs this film adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, a 1929 novel of the same title by Erich Maria Remarque. With two other film versions of the epic World War I novel already made, Berger infuses his visually stunning work with a new subplot storyline and pounding soundtrack. The result is a war film that does not shy away from the horrors and long-lasting impacts of war.The source material used for Berger's film is Remarque's novel, written close to a century before this film's release, about his own time as a young German soldier during the Great War. Newcomer Felix Kammerer plays the protagonist, Paul, who is inspired by his schoolteacher's patriotic speech and enlists at the age of 17. Kammerer's bright, fresh face with his big blue eyes only play up his character Paul's youth and innocence at the start of the film. Before Paul volunteers to join the army, audiences are assaulted with the brutal realities of war. Viewers see piles upon piles of dead bodies, and these bodies are relieved of their uniforms, which are washed and mended. Rows of women sew and stitch together the coats and pants these young boys will soon don. When Paul is handed his uniform, he notes another soldier's name is already sewn into it. When he mentions it, the older guard tears it off, saying it must've been too small for its original owner. The viewers, however, have already seen these uniforms belonged to the dead, so when Paul goes away, holding the clothes with a beaming smile, the audience's heart aches for him.In addition to the gore, there are other constants of war waiting for Paul and his teenager contemporaries, such as mud, hunger, and fear. Trudging through the wet mud only adds to the hopelessness of the army's situation. Each step seems futile and difficult to take. The hunger causes Paul and his mentor, Kat, played by Albrecht Schuch, to steal food from a farmer and puts them all in local danger in addition to the actual war. The fear of their own impending deaths and bodily harm looms large for the young soldiers. Viewers know these boys will never be the same after witnessing war's atrocities. The addition of a subplot that was not present in Remarque's novel tracks the efforts for peace. Politicians seek to begin talks with the Allied Forces in hopes of an armistice. The audience knows this peace could possibly offer Paul and his friends safety, as well as a future, the one Paul once dreamed of full of military glory; yet it seems unattainable no matter the move toward a cease fire. Paul will remain forever changed by the misery and suffering of war.Berger takes liberties with the ending of his film in regards to the novel's original final scene. This change is meant to punch the audience in the gut, after already showing them the visually provocative daily life of battle. Whether audiences choose to view the film in German with subtitles, or the English dubbed version, the power of the story will not be impacted. Remarque's theme remains: A dead solider, no matter how young or wide-eyed, does not break the quiet on the western front-there's no news to share.