All Quiet on the Western Front
★ ★★★★
It's easy to overlook All Quiet on the Western Front's brilliance due to the over saturation of war films. Although it doesn't particularly have anything new to say about the tragedy of war, it has taken all the elements of its predecessors and has used what worked best in those films to showcase the brutality of trench warfare.
I can't even recall when I saw the original 1930 film, but I remember being quite stunned by the themes that were presented. I can't speak much on what was changed or altered from the previous versions, but this reimagining doesn't shy away from the anti-war sentiment. Technically, it's visually stunning to watch, especially as the camera travels through the tunnels of the trenches. It also does an amazing job of bringing life to the comradeship that is formed among soldiers. Not that director Edward Berger had international audiences in mind outside of Germany, but the language barrier didn't stand in the way of easily identifying key characters amongst a sea of troops covered in mud and grey overtones. The journey that we see Paul (Felix Kammerer) and Stanislaus (Albrecht Schuch) take is powerful and extremely heartbreaking, and I truly believed in their unbreakable bond.
I'm sure it has been done before, even though I don't recall the film, but I appreciated seeing how war actually comes to an end through peace talks. Berger is able to show that the political viciousness of war can be just as devastating as the battle itself. I'm not savvy enough to know what else will be up for Best International Picture this year, but don't be surprised to see All Quiet on the Western Front as a frontrunner. Berger is definitely a director to pay attention to.
