All Quiet on the Western Front
What is a soldier without war?
26 February 2023
A young German soldier (Felix Kammerer) enters WWI hoping to see some action. When the gruesome reality of war hits him, his life becomes an endless fight for survival.
A crystal clear, gory and bombastic take on ‘war is hell’ that’s received adulation from awards bodies and some hate from German critics.
I’m happy to sit on the fence, it’s quite a visceral experience as a film but what is it really bringing to the table that we haven’t seen before? It’s an incredible technical achievement but the screenplay is a cavalcade of cliches that largely seems to miss the point of the book.
Lies between Saving Private Ryan and 1917 but not as good as either.