All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Director: Edward Berger

Starring: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer

A young German soldier’s terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is a heart wrenching story that realistically depicts the harsh reality and horrors of war, and the dire circumstances in which soldiers had to fight.

Our hero is 17-year old Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer), who is sent to the Western Front during the First World War. He befriends Stanislaus Katczinsky (Albrecht Schuch) – or Kat as he is called – and Tjaden Stackfleet (Edin Hasanovic). The film takes its time introducing the characters and setting up the scene. Although it was never boring, streamlining some of the scenes would have resulted in a faster paced film.

The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. The battle scenes are incredibly realistic and oh-so-heartbreaking! The inhumane slaughter of innocents on the battlefield are disturbing to the core. While those with authority made decisions whilst dining in luxury – and complaining about rusks not being fresh! – soldiers were starving, enduring cold and wet weather. Thousands of innocent lives were lost while negotiations were taking place.

The film shows us in detail the circumstances soldiers found themselves in, and we follow the war through Paul and Kat’s friendship. ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is an excellently made, good movie, but this was just way too sad! This film deserves all the accolades it received.

At the time of writing this review, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ received 105 award nominations, winning 21 thus far. It received 9 Oscar nominations (Best International Feature Film, Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design).

Would I watch it again? This is a very good movie, but not sure I’d watch it again.