All Quiet on the Western Front Netflix Movie Review

All Quiet on the Western Front [Im Westen nichts Neues] (2022)

Watch All Quiet on the Western Front on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Edward Berger & Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell (screenplay by), Erich Maria Remarque (based on the novel by)
Directed by: Edward Berger
Starring: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Daniel Brühl
Rated: R
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Plot
A young German soldier's terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.

Verdict
This portrays the harsh realities of war. Boys romantic about the war join and see what it's like to be in the trenches. This looks at how inhumane war is. Leaders send kids to war without ever seeing what it's like. Propaganda spurs kids to join, who discover a harsh life awaits. I like the creative choices this makes, from how it frames and sets up shots to the music. It's a haunting movie, scary in that people have and will endure similar situations.
Watch It.

Review
This is based on the 1928 novel. It was adapted to a movie in 1930, a television movie in 1979, and again for this movie.

From the first scene this grabs you. We see what looks like a snowy landscape only to realize it's ash on the battlefield. As the camera moves we see bodies, then hear gunfire, and then bullets cause dirt to spray.

Felix Kammerer plays Paul

Paul (Felix Kammerer) and his friends are compelled to join the army after a rousing speech at school. The army needs bodies, and any will do. What Paul doesn't realize is that his uniform is from the front lines, peeled off a dead soldier.

Paul and his friends quickly realize the reality of war is much different than they imagined or the dream they were promised. The threat of death isn't just real, it's imminent. They struggle to survive, not just the artillery rounds that rain down, but food is scarce.

There is the duality of the front line and then the leaders in charge brokering an armistice. They send men to war, but don't have to face the conditions themselves. While they don't take war lightly, actually seeing war is much different from discussing it.

This movie depicts something horrific, and it doesn't stop. It's an uncomfortable movie, but a necessary one. The idea to which this keeps returning is humanity. How the men Paul is tasked with killing aren't all that different from him, how inhuman war is, the differences between sides come down to uniform color on the front lines. More than once Paul faces off against a single enemy, and in that moment the war seems absurd. They're barely older than children, faced with a horrible plight. Paul isn't built for this. He's terrified, and who can blame him. People die all around him. 

On a technical and creative level, I like everything this movie does. The shots imbue a sense of scale, frequently providing a broader context to what we see. Even the music is unnerving, harsh tones that fit the mood for which this movie strives perfectly.

Over the course of the movie we see a naive kid join the army and reduced to a shell of himself. As one of the characters muses, how can anyone return to a normal life after this.