I am a sucker for war films. I grew up watching movies and shows such as Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, M*A*S*H and many others. I read some reviews before checking All Quiet on the Western Front, a Netflix original by the way, out and boy was it a relief to see such positive reviews. The thing with this movie was that it was completely different than anything I have ever watched regarding the war genre. This was a movie that was filmed in German, and it showed the German aspect of World War 1.
There are not a lot of stories told from the opposite point of view, especially with something like the “war to end all wars”. Now this movie was remade twice, with the first one releasing in 1930 and with the second one in 1979 as well as a novel that was written by Erich Maria Remarque and published in 1928. The modern version was obviously grislier and more realistic and actually could show the true horrors of war.
This story starts off showing the battlefield and the aftermath of the battles. It goes to extreme details showing what happens to the uniforms that were issued to other soldiers that have fallen in combat. The actual plot follows Paul, played by Felix Kammerer, who is extremely excited to join the German army and head off to war with a bunch of kids his age. However, once theory has boots on ground, they quickly realize that not all is fun and games and want to make a 180 right back to their homes. Each one of them grows closer with their squad/peers and just tries to make it to the end of the war. This movie is beautifully shot. The way everything was and the setting just made this movie ten times better. All Quiet on the Western Front reminds me a lot of the 2019 film 1917, also about World War 1. If I had to choose, this movie would get Best Picture.
Another point I would like to expand on is that we never get to see well made films showing the opposite side of the war, in this case the Germans. We always saw the Americans, British and other allies point of view when showing these types of wars. However, this movie shows that both sides hated it. Hated war, loss, grief. This movie ends with a twist that I definitely did not see coming and boy was it emotional.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a brilliant yet real description of how terrible those days were when most of the soldiers had no idea what they were fighting for or why they had to be in the middle of it. This is going to have to be a must watch for me at least once a year. I would recommend that if you love movies and TV shows like I mentioned above, then this movie is definitely for you and you won’t be disappointed.
