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Generations of historians, literature scholars, and schoolchildren are intimately familiar with Im Westen Nicht Neues<\/em> (All Quiet on the Western Front<\/em>), which is perhaps the<\/em> seminal fictionalisation of (young) men\u2019s experiences fighting in the Great War.<\/p>\n Initially serialised in 1928, the novel by German writer and ex-serviceman Erich Maria Remarque was a firm rebuff to the established genre of adventure war fiction, with its intention to portray the cruelty of conflict and its impact on the human body and spirit. Now, more than nine decades since its publication, and the release of the (Oscar-winning) first adaptation in 1930, the story has been adapted in German for the first time. It\u2019s a decision which immediately cultivates a quiet authority.<\/p>\n The film centres on 17-year-old Paul Ba\u00fcmer (played by Felix Kammerer), and his friends Albert Kropp (Aaron Hilmer), Franz M\u00fcller (Moritz Klaus), and Ludwig Behm (Adrian Gr\u00fcnewald), who all decide to enlist in 1917. It charts their journey from idealistic youths, expectant of an adventure and the opportunity to cement their masculinity, to men horrified by the realities of industrialised conflict.<\/p>\n For those familiar with First World War cinema, there are commonly seen characterisations in All Quiet on the Western Front<\/em>: the terrified boy desperate to go home; the more experienced soldier who is (mostly) adept at managing his emotions; the disabled serviceman anxious about his prospects; the men of authority who manipulate the recruits and espouse the honour of warfare (the viewer cannot fail to spot the irony in the phrase: \u201cThe Kaiser needs soldiers, not children.\u201d) But it is important to note that this is faithful to the spirit of Remarque\u2019s novel, which was among the contemporary literature that provided the initial inspiration for such tropes in British and Hollywood cinema.<\/p>\n Where the film most notably diverges from the source material is in its presentation of an additional layer to the story (achieved by omitting Paul\u2019s training for service and his visit home on leave). This consists of regular scenes of what is happening behind the lines, featuring (real) politician Matthias Erzberger (played by Daniel Br\u00fchl) as he leads negotiations for an armistice, and General Friedrich (Devid Striesow), who is determined for his troops to fight to the last rather than submit to a capitulation. Erzberger carries a personal motivation which accelerates his moral conviction that the war must end, and these scenes give rise to a race-against-time atmosphere as the viewer anticipates whether Paul and his friends can endure.<\/p>\n In the group\u2019s everyday experiences, there are resonances to the emotions felt by First World War soldiers across nationalities. These include excitement at the arrival of post, joy in food (and misery when supplies are meagre), and humour in surreal and bleak circumstances. The film also explores the anxiety that servicemen could experience during periods of prolonged shelling.<\/p>\n As the narrative progresses, Paul\u2019s circle extends to the more experienced soldiers Stanislaus \u2018Kat\u2019 Katczinsky (Albrecht Schuch) and Tjaden Stackfleet (Edin Hasanovic). Paul and Kat\u2019s friendship is the core of the film, with the latter serving as an (unconventional) father figure. In the novel, the power of the pair\u2019s friendship is often unspoken, but the adaptation includes new scenes which delve into their dynamic. Two of these additions underline the physical \u2013 but not emotional \u2013 separation from loved ones.<\/p>\n Remarque\u2019s idea of a disconnect between soldiers and civilians is nevertheless nodded to by Kat: \u201cAll they\u2019ll want to know is if we fought in close combat. We\u2019ll walk around like travellers in a landscape from the past.\u201d As with other First World War films, portrayals of comradeship are frequent, and here its employment occasionally includes a tactile attention, from the smoothing down of a uniform to an embrace.<\/p>\n Director Edward Berger\u2019s thoughtful use of material culture crafts additional emotional threads. A uniform name badge, a scarf, a theatre poster, photographs \u2013 they all tell a story (some connected to the novel). The wider visuals are impressive. Beautiful landscapes add moments of tranquillity, with the juxtaposition of forests, hills, and sunrises with the chaos of No Man\u2019s Land suggestive of both the desecration of war landscapes, and a longing for home landscapes.<\/p>\n Indeed, a passage in the novel sees Paul suddenly struck by visions of his town: \u201c[English translation] The parachute-lights soar upwards \u2013 and I see a picture, a summer evening, I am in the cathedral cloister and look at the tall rose trees that bloom in the middle of the little cloister garden [\u2026] Between the meadows behind our town there stands a line of old poplars by a stream [\u2026] We loved them dearly, and the image of those days still makes my heart pause in its beating.\u201d<\/p>\nAn additional layer to Remarque\u2019s story<\/h2>\n
Invoking the longing for home<\/h2>\n