by Seth Lukas Hynes
All Quiet On The Western Front
Starring Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch and Daniel Bruhl
Rated MA15+
4/5
All Quiet On The Western Front is a harrowing, enthralling adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel.
Paul (Felix Kammerer), a student in 1917, enthusiastically enlists in the German war effort, but his romantic view of war is quickly shattered by the horrors of the Western Front.
All Quiet On The Western Front conveys the vast chaos and terror of war through an intimate human perspective, as Paul steadily loses his friends and innocence in a desolate landscape.
A droning electronic leitmotif in the score underlines the mechanised nature of World War I, and a silk scarf shared between the main characters symbolises the scarce hope and connection in such a war.
The film’s general aesthetic is mud, blood and trauma, and the visual language makes clever use of juxtaposition. The first two shots contrast new life – a fox and her cubs in their den – with a field of dead bodies. In a diplomatic narrative running parallel with the skirmishes, the film mirrors a gathering of officials to discuss peace with a gathering of soldiers preparing to attack. The battle sequences are frantic and gut-wrenching, and the second act has a terrifying scene of tanks emerging from the mist like lumbering beasts.
All Quiet On The Western Front lags in the middle. Viewers need some down-time for shocks to carry full impact, but the lull in the second act feels almost comfortable, and the film takes a long time to match the magnitude of the first-act battle (but this intensity is well and truly matched). Kat (Albrecht Schuch) and Tjaden (Edin Hasanovic), two soldiers whom Paul bonds with, also feel strangely interchangeable.
Despite some pacing issues, All Quiet On The Western Front is a gruelling, poignant and superbly-produced war film, and is available for streaming on Netflix.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
