All Quiet On The Western Front (2022) Dir: Edward Berger
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This Edward Berger directed World War One film has been the subject of a lot of attention, garnering acclaim in the form of multiple Oscar nominations, and a vast array of positive reviews.
The screenplay was written by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stockell, and at first glance, appears to be a standard world war film, filled with grim violence and harrowing destruction.
However, upon closer inspection, this Netflix original is far more of an exploration of naivity, for which many young men fell victim to during the war, the severe trauma and the undeniable loss of innocence in those who enlisted.
The accompanying cinematography of James Friend is beautiful and haunting, which leaves the audience unavailably feeling the utter brutality of trench warfare.
There is some phenomenal visual juxtaposition between the raw violence of the front line and the comparative grandure of the military command posts. After all, as most good world war films tend to be, this is brutal in its realism.
Full disclosure, for those English speakers, for which the majority of my audience is compiled of, the film is almost entirely in German, but this should be no real issue, so long as you can cope with subtitles. And if you cannot, there is an English dubbed audio you can use.
At 2 hours and 28 minutes, the subtitles may become rather tiresome, but, in my view, it is a small price to pay. I had what can only be described as mixed feelings on the soundtrack. At points, it was near perfection, but occasionally it can be quite jarring, and doesn't fit the film as much as it could've.
The story is truly powerful and utterly devastating, with some crushingly tragic moments littered throughout. Some of the parallels between the narrative and shots is something to appreciate, and is something careful observers of narrative will certainly appreciate.
Felix Kammerer provides an endearing and relatable protagonist whose character evolution is well presented and takes audiences on a hugely emotional journey that mirrors many of the film's themes.
Albrecht Schuh was a surprise for me, in that, his character seemed to almost come out of nowhere. But once he was established in the narrative, he delivered excellently, particularly in his scenes with Kammerer.
Edin Hasanović grew into his character well, with his second half performance being especially impressive, in my view. His final few scenes were truly excellent.
The film's big star, Daniel Brühl, of Marvel and Inglorious Basterds (2012) notoriety, surprisingly only has a supporting role, but, in all honesty, I think it was better that way. Regardless, Brühl shows his class in each of his scenes, providing an intriguing side character who compliments the main plot well.
Aaron Hilmer is another strong performer in the supporting cast, with his second act being of particular note. I actually think he deserved a little more screentime, but he does well with what he has.
Devid Striesow provides the best third act performance of the entire cast. His facial expressions were especially good.
I will also mention Moritz Klaus, Sebastian Hülk and Thibault de Montalembert, whom were all worth noting, despite their relatively minor roles.
Overall, this is certainly not cinema's greatest war film, nor is it the greatest World War One film, but it has a realism and a profoundness that is so rare in the genre, and should be enjoyed for its simplicity and realistic take on war.
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