It’s been nearly a hundred years since Erich Maria Remarque’s raw account of life in the trenches first shocked the world. Published in 1929, All Quiet on the Western Front was an instant bestseller, followed almost immediately by an epic Academy Award–winning Hollywood movie in 1930. Despite its enduring legacy, the literary classic has never been reimagined by a German director — until now. Written and directed by Edward Berger, a new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front is now streaming on Netflix.
Told from the perspective of 17-year-old German soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), Berger’s film begins three years into World War I — then the most brutal and bloody conflict in human history. As you can see in the trailer above, Paul and his friends leave school bolstered by propaganda and dreams of glory and join the army, confident in victory. But the reality of trench warfare is more like a nightmare as they are plagued by rain, mud and surrounded by terrifying, constant death.
Applying a German lens to this slice of the country’s history felt crucial to Berger, who told Netflix he sought to carve out a new perspective on conflict. “There’s a feeling that will be with us for our whole life: the feeling of the legacy of two wars,” he said. “Our view of war is dominated by sorrow and shame, by devastation and guilt. Nothing positive remains, not the tiniest spark of heroism. I found making our history, our background and our attitude to war the driving force behind a film a great challenge. And I thought that this very specific German perspective may well be of interest to people in other countries too. Especially at the moment.”
Starring alongside Kammerer is an ensemble cast that will pull at your heartstrings, including Albrecht Schuch (Berlin Alexanderplatz) as Stanislaus Katczinsky, Aaron Hilmer as Paul’s mentor, Moritz Klaus, Edin Hasanovic, Adrian Grünewald, Thibault de Montalembert, Devid Striesow and The Alienist’s Daniel Brühl as a German diplomat desperate to negotiate peace as the death toll hits unimaginable heights.
The film has also racked up a healthy collection of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globes and earned an impressive 14 nominations at the BAFTAs, tying the previous record for a non-English language movie held by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon since 2001.
