All Quiet on the Western Front movie review

MOVIE TITLE: All Quiet on the Western Front

This action drama movie will be available on Netflix on October 28, 2022.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 2 hours 27 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story follows teenagers Paul Bäumer and his friends Albert and Müller, who voluntarily enlist in the German army, riding a wave of patriotic fervor that quickly dissipates once they face the brutal realities of life on the front. Paul’s preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict soon crumble. However, amid the countdown to an armistice, Paul must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass’ desire to end the war on a German offensive.

This brutal WWI movie was directed by Edward Berger. It’s the most expensive German film ever made for Netflix. It’s also the third version of the story. The original movie All Quiet on the Western Front won the Academy Award for “Best Picture” in 1930. I’m assuming this new version will be nominated.

Erich Maria Remarque wrote this in the forward to his famous novel, “This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face-to-face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.”

THINGS I LIKED:

My husband’s grandfather served in WWI in the American Army. He kept a detailed journal that we have read with our four sons. His written words are sobering and heartbreaking. Because he was a runner who carried messages along the lines that had been sprayed with mustard gas, his relatives said he was never the same once he returned alive in the USA.
It’s fascinating to see the German perspective of WWI. What’s even more amazing is that even after this grisly war, Germany was at it again just 21 years later.
Felix Kammerer does an excellent job as a young, naive German soldier. The others in the cast did a fantastic job giving very realistic performances.
With war threatening Europe again TODAY, this film is a grim reminder of what war really looks like.
Incredible cinematography by James Friend.
At several points in the movie, we hear these disconcerting musical tones, reminding us of impending doom and that all is not well on the western front.
The ending is a solid gut punch to your heart.