The phrase All Is Quiet On The Western Front is dreadfully ironic, as it comes from the military terminology that meant ‘nothing has changed’ during the World War trench warfare, indicating haunting stillness and stagnation. Edward Berger’s film, adapted from Erich Maria Remarque’s bone-chilling classic, captures the phrase with cruel accuracy, switching from the horrors of war to the uneasy quiet of a soldier’s life. The film portrays the foolhardiness of nationalism, juxtaposed with the sheer exhaustion, futility of war and the stripping away of normalcy and humanity. Perhaps it isn’t the first war film to do so, but this time it feels rooted and far more cruelly real, one reason being the Germans, actually speak German for once. All Is Quiet On The Western Front is the most brutal war narrative yet as it shows the loss of innocence, the muddied trenches, the little slivers of humanity, small moments of friendship and the bloodlust of field marshals.
Paul Baumer, the film’s protagonist, is looking forward to join the army and fight for the fatherland against France, after being spurred by a patriotic speech by his headmaster. The friends are off for an adventure, or so they believe, not registering that the uniform they’re wearing are taken off the backs of dead soldiers. However, they’re shaken on the first night itself after almost being shot at—one of them gets a bullet through his cap. However, this is just the beginning of a hellish nightmare that they’ll never escape from. Amid firing, Paul’s close friend Ludwig says he wants to return to his mother in one of the most heart-breaking scenes of the film. They realise what they’ve been ensnared, and ache for their old lives that are have been reduced to dust now.
The film is filled with such nauseatingly agonizing scenes — from the dog tags of deceased soldiers, to the eerie stillness between warfare, where soldiers are just sitting and waiting, trying to make the most of a meagre diet. They snatch at the slightest signs of joy and luxury, like raiding a French farm for food, and almost getting shot at, having an affair with a passing farm girl and keeping her scarf. These are the tiniest slivers of happiness they have, before once again, they have to follow orders. But for the most part, there’s just gloom and darkness even during daylight. Berger shows the soullessness of war in one scene, where one of the comrades, Tjaden is suffering on a stretcher. Paul and the older ‘brother’ Kat bring him food, but Tjaden stabs himself in the neck out of sheer horror at the thought of being a cripple for the rest of his life. As Paul and Kat try to save him, another soldier just takes their food bowls and eats. It’s this chilling normalcy and tiny detail that makes this film so impactful—the men are dead long before bullets hit them.
However, no scene hits as hard as when Paul kills a French soldier, only to be overcome by the shock and horror of actually committing such an act. As he frantically tries to save him, he discovers photos of the man’s wife and child—he was just as human as the rest of them. Paul is wracked with dry sobs, caked in mud and blood and lets out agonised screams of despair. This scene takes place on no man’s land after battle; the symbolism doesn’t get heavier than this.
While Edward Berger juxtaposes the story of these wearied soldiers in the trenches against history where high-ranking officers and diplomats look for ways to end the war, his most profound scene is showing the journey of the dog tag (inscription bearing soldier’s numbers)—when it leaves a soldier’s body in Northern France, to finally, when it is recorded by officers months later. It’s discomfiting and so unsettling to see the normalcy of the dog tag collection, and the recitation of the men’s births and deaths for record filing.
Without excessive exposition, it shows the amount of lives claimed, and blends in seamlessly with history as Matthias Erzberger has the final list—the member who finally signed the Armistice to bring about the end of the war in November 1918. In a rather crippling manner, the film shows how many German lives were lost every week and yet, frenzied German generals insisted on forcing their traumatised troops into the battlefield—in fact, ordering them to fight just before the Armistice is signed as well. There are no winners in a war. Baumer succumbs to the frenzy and literally fights to the death, but like the book shows, he’s at peace after his death. The film portrays the haunting lines of the book, focusing on Paul’s calm countenance as someone takes the dog tag away from him.
All Is Quiet On The Western Front is perhaps the most chilling, gruelling and unsettling film on the reality of war, imbued with nuance and powerful subtlety. It couldn’t have been more timely.