ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT: NETFLIX’S ANTI- WAR GEM OF 2022
Edward Berger delivers heart wrenching cinema, expertly conveying the horrors of war via cinematography mastery.
All Quiet On The Western Front is a World War One cinematic epic, capturing beautifully the horrific reality of war and the innate desperation of survival and duty. Released to Netflix Streaming on October 28, 2022, it brings a dark gritty tone to the war film genre, shattering the dull propaganda filled precedent that has plagued the genre for years. It is instead, unafraid to explore the taboo themes of war itself.
Delving deep into the psychological effects of the War, the film takes the perspective from young German soldier, Paul Baumer, played by Felix Kammerer. His initial romanticised view on war ultimately ends up stripped and replaced with a melancholic pessimism intertwined with guilt. During the final third of the film, Felix delivers one of the greatest lines of cinema this year, fully embodying a mans spirit wrought with death,
“The stench will remain with us forever.”.
Going beyond the fray of simple good and evil, Berger transcends tropes to show that war only creates destruction and death on both sides. There are no winners in war. In an interview with AV Club in October of 2022, he comments on the relevance of his film in this day and age, saying,
“I think, unfortunately, that this type of movie is always relevant. Even now we have a very unfortunate, timely relevance with Ukraine that we couldn’t foresee. But we had war 10 years ago and we’ll have it again in 10 years, unfortunately, so that subject matter somehow never gets old. “
From a technical standpoint, Edward Bergers lack of CGI and preference for massive set pieces paired with amazing pyrotechnics forms a nightmarish realism which serves to form the canvas from which Paul navigates his deathly journey through.
Critic on Letter Boxd and 2nd year film student at Southhampton University, Jude Allen, says he had only high praise to give this film, “This is a highly topical and important film, a commentary on learning from the past, the landscape of war of today, especially with the War in Ukraine and Palestine and the inevitability of war in the future with the way things are looking. All quiet on the Western Front should be the template for all future war films and I see this becoming a classic which will stand the test of time for years to come.”
Expanding on the technicalities of the camera work within the film, Jude would go onto comment on the superb expertise of the cinematography at hand,
“The use of wide shots for the battle scenes fully captures the extent of destruction that entailed within The Great War, you see every aspect of death and carnage unfold on the silver screen, your eyes are unable to focus on any one thing, just like true chaos in war, blending this with intimate close up shots of Felix Kammerer during more emotional scenes with intimate focus on his eyes and his small movements, allows break from the action and really enter the terrified psyche of Felix’s character. All in all, a cinematography masterpiece, I can see definitely see this being studied by film students in the future.”
A final statement from Jude,
“There are no words to summarise or give the film any sort of final statement without missing out anything that All Quiet On The Western Front captures, all I can say is that please watch the film to experience its full emotional journey.”
All Quiet On The Western Front has revolutionised the War Film genre, forever changing the landscape and direction of any future War film. Edward Berger understands the scope of emotion and trauma that war has on people, creating something more than a war film but a look into the darkness of humanity.
-Mark Macasil
