Review: "All Quiet on the Western Front, Road to OSCAR 2023"

Darkmeter 8.5 ⚫

What an awards season we've had, if someone had told me 3 years ago that productions outside of Hollywood would be smashing it at all possible awards I wouldn't have believed. But what movie is above all that had been expected? Of course the beautiful, impressive and powerful German production that I will talk about next.

First, it should be noted that this cinematographic work is based on a novel of the same name, written by Erich Maria Remarque, which has already received a big screen adaptation in 1979. In which the author expresses many of the feelings and dilemmas that he came to live in the first great war, a novel that as a lover of reading I highly recommend and that you can get on amazon.

Without further hesitation, let's go to the front.

Great German respect.

It is not surprising that if we go into the theme of war cinema and combine Germany in the synopsis, most people will think of an extremely embarrassing scenario in the history of humanity, however, this film came to put a stop to it. stop at that and say “Hey! Germany is more” all evoking the events of the “Great War” that is, the First World War just in its last year before the ceasefire.

Although war is something terrible that should not be experienced, in this film we understand what should always be taught, war occupies two sides, in which in the eyes of the protagonist, a young German named "Paul Bäumer "It is understood the need of the German people to win the war, the motivation and above all the humanity lost and at the same time found in the trenches.

Political and military criticism at the point of the bayonet.

As a spectator you will be able to touch, feel and understand how the war reached that point of massacring millions of lives due to the decisions and lies of a few. The director, in a great handling of characters, manages to put on camera how power-hungry politicians and glory-hungry soldiers took this war beyond what was even possible.

Highlighting in this part the exquisite participation of Daniel Brühl as the politician Matthias Erzberger, the one who signed the armistice, where in the same way through the direction and script we were able to feel how there were many people with humanity and common sense behind these decisions, but due to a lack of power or understanding they were unable to stop the massacre that was taking place every day in the trenches.

Stressing that unlike American or English productions, here what the heads of state and their subordinates are capable of doing is criticized in a humane and real way, as well as portraying the military not as heroes but as people who in We understand how they became sick of power in their contexts, all this without exaggerating at all.

Performances that make you feel in your own flesh.

And now we are going to one of the strongest points of the film, although none of the participants is deserving of a solo award, the truth is that together each of the actors that were part of the cast form a glorious journey.

And we will talk about those that in the opinion of a server are the most remarkable of this work.

Of course we start with the protagonist “Paul Bäumer” (Felix Kammerer) who I must say was lacking, he is simply not at the level of a protagonist, this of course does not detract from an excellent job in many of the scenes, only that at Compared to other actors with whom he lives, he feels a bit weak and fails to convey what the rest of the stage wants you to feel, simply a lack of experience.

But "Stanislaus" (Albrecht Schuch) arrives to give one of the best supporting performances I've seen throughout my life, each scene, each word, each emotion, conveyed with passion and impeccable work. We understand his character, you empathize with him and you want him to have a happy ending. Although he does not have as marked a development as the protagonist, his performance manages to make you not need to know more about him.

Finally, we have the aforementioned "Matthias Erzberger" (Daniel Brühl) who already has us used to impressive work, here he shows again that even as a supporting character, he has enough character and personality to stand out above all else. . He only appears for a few minutes on the screen, but he manages to evoke the respect and firmness that the politician who, above all else, sought peace should have.

The beginning of chaos.

I want to highlight how a justification is not sought for what years later would become the darkest and saddest scenario of humanity, but it does imply that there is a context behind it. That the hatred and easy manipulation of the German people in the future has a reason to exist and it was not something that came out of nowhere, as if it were a stray bullet.

Throughout the film, other nations are treated with respect, both the French and the Americans are never accused of villains, or people with bad intentions, but are people like everyone else who only seek the better for them and their people, who are there by decision of others and who are not capable of even understanding the consequences of their large-scale actions in the future, what seems like justice ends up being revenge, blood and chaos.

Conclusion.

All Quiet on the Front is one of the best candidates to win the best film award, of course it probably won't win it, but it will mark a before and after in the history of war cinema. There are no heroes, there is no glory, there is no hope, but above all… there is nothing new on the front.