Best war film for years: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

“Either man will abolish war, or war will abolish man.” Those words, spoken by Bertrand Russell, came to mind the other day as my eyes fixed upon a wooden tank that sat above my bookshelf. It was made by my grandfather while he was stationed in the Middle East during the Second World War. A master carpenter, he made it for my father, who then passed it on to me. That model tank was the only connection any of us would have with his time in the war. According to my grandma, he arrived home in full uniform, took it off at the door and, for the next 50 years, never spoke about it.

It is often said that history is written from the perspective of the winner. But in 1928, Erich Maria Remarque published a book that changed that. All Quiet on the Western Front was based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during World War 1.

The anti-war novel has been adapted for the big screen twice over the years—once in 1930 and again in 1979, both of which are American. This new iteration, released on Netflix and directed by Edward Berger, is the first German-made version of Remarque’s novel. While the prospect of watching a modern retelling of a classic story usually leaves me feeling uneasy, this is one of the finest war movies I have seen in years. It expands upon the source material without losing anything that made it so powerful in the first place. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is a rare example where deviating from the original actually enhances the story it tells here.

The film sets the scene with a chilling prologue. It’s summer 1917; the first world war has been raging for three years, and as casualties mount, the German Army is in desperate need of new recruits. As the camera pans a battlefield littered with corpses, it focuses on a young German soldier just as he is killed. We are then taken on a journey — that of the recruit’s uniform, as it is cleaned of blood and mud, patched up and dispatched to the recruitment office to be recycled.

It is with a dark sense of irony that this uniform is then given to Paul Bäumer (played by Felix Kammerer). Our protagonist is an impressionable young man who forges his mother’s signature to enlist in the army and fight alongside his friends. Dreams of adventure and glory await. Emboldened by patriotic speeches, morale is high as the new recruits head off to war.

But it doesn’t take long until the realities of trench warfare hit Bäumer. As soon as he arrives, he is surrounded by death and destruction. The cinematography perfectly captures this. The in-the-trenches tracking shots bring to mind Stanley Kubrick’s splendid Paths of Glory.

Eighteen months later, the German Army is running low on new recruits. After four years of fighting, defeat seems inevitable. A delegation is dispatched to negotiate an armistice. Meanwhile, the top German general pushes for a final, futile offensive to regain lost ground — a meaningless gesture of defiance, sacrificing thousands of lives in the name of pride. Paul goes back to fight a war that is already lost.

When it comes to illustrating the sheer horror and futility of war, there are few conflicts better suited to the job than World War I. The powerful anti-war message is one that is regularly conveyed in modern cinema. Famous examples include Wooden Crosses, King and Country, and 1917. Images of brave young men charging across a shell-blasted wasteland, dying in droves to gain a few metres of land only to lose it the next day, are among the most moving and tragic things to come out of the twentieth century.

The violence is unapologetic. Soldiers are often blown up and gunned down before they even manage to leave their trenches. Flamethrowers and tanks are shown in graphic detail. Fighting is animalistic, done with everything from knives to shovels and fists.

While the film shows the truly horrifying reality of trench warfare, some of the most memorable scenes occur when the fighting subsides. Life in the trenches was often a mix of danger, boredom, and hard work. Soldiers were cold, wet, hungry, and caked in mud. Snipers were a regular threat, and at any point, incoming artillery fire could lead to your dugout collapsing. With no one expecting to make it home alive, they bond over a shared sense of bleak fatalism.

After seeing his enlisted friends die, he befriends an older soldier named Kat (Albrecht Schuch) as his mentor.When away from immediate danger, Bäumer finds a brief moment of happiness in their shared camaraderie when they raid a farm to steal a goose for food. Yet privately, Kat is tormented by past regrets and future fears. Can he live with the things he has both seen and done?

The standout performances come from Kammerer and Schuch. The chemistry between them helps convey the friendship they share. As Kat, Schuch is outstanding: strong and passive yet able to show glimpses of vulnerability when we learn he’s a husband and father, terrified of the future.

Credit must go to Netflix. While I often criticise their creative output, their decision to invest $45 million in European cinema has given British audiences a chance to view continental work we would not normally see. The Danish film The Bombardment is a fine example.

As I’ve mentioned, this version is not faithful to the original. One storyline, where real-life German Vice Chancellor Matthias Erzberger attempts to broker a peace deal with the French, is not in Remarque’s novel. I can only assume it’s there to add emotional depth and context. It may not be historically accurate, but I can live with that.

One minor criticism rests with the soundtrack. What’s with the modern obsession with using new music in historical productions? It is so incongruous in tone with the rest of the movie. The jarring techno beat sounds out of place, especially when juxtaposed with a beautiful and moving Bach prelude. Perhaps it conveys the conflicting emotions of war? This is something I first picked up from watching Peaky Blinders.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a remarkable movie. A terrifying experience that will haunt you for a long time — but well worth seeing.

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