All Quiet on the Western Front Remake

My Uncle Carl Laemmle made All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930 and it’s one of the most important movies he ever made. Uncle Carl was a proud German immigrant, and his whole life after he moved to the United States, he kept strong ties to his home country. He saw what Germany went through after World War I, and he was eager to tell a story that put the German soldiers in a sympathetic light, and that would warn others about the horrors of war.

When All Quiet on the Western Front was first released, it was controversial. Leaders in Germany thought the movie made them look weak, and they sabotaged screenings of the movie, and it was banned in Germany as well as banned and or censored in a slew of other countries. It was a good movie though, and I think despite the controversy it caused, it also did achieve Carl Laemmle’s goal of highlighting just how grueling war can be. It also won Universal its very first Oscar. I know Uncle Carl was so proud of that.

This year, German Director Edward Berger released a new adaptation for Netflix. It’s been chosen by Germany as its official submission for Best International Feature for the Oscars. I was so eager to watch, and couldn’t help but wonder the whole time: What would Carl Laemmle think?

Carl Laemmle holding his Academy Award for All Quiet on the Western Front.

I watched this new adaptation at a special screening by American Cinematheque at the Aero Theater that included a Q&A with Edward Berger himself, as well as actor and executive producer Daniel Bruhl, and composer Volker Bertelmann, and in a sentence: I think this movie missed the mark.

First the good: Visually, it was stunning. This movie is for sure most impactful on a big screen, and the music was jarring and beautiful. The main theme is just three notes - this “duhn duhn duhn” that you feel in your gut. I loved it.

I also want to specifically call out a few of the actors. Felix Kammerer was incredible. He was able to convey so much with just a look - whether fear or hopelessness, and I found myself consistently impressed by him. Even more so realizing this is his debut film! Albrecht Schuch, who played Kat, also wonderful. And Daniel Bruhl did a fine job as Matthias Erzberger - a real politician who was not in the original All Quiet on the Western Front novel or film, but who was written into this new film.

Where the first All Quiet on the Western Front starts by showing the young German men being inspired by their professor to serve their country, experience the glory of war, this film pretty much drops you right into the war in minute one. And then you never leave.

Yes, the goal of All Quiet is to show the horrors of war. This new movie did that without a doubt. But it was … too much. So much that the horrors of war became monotonous. Instead of going on an emotional journey…I was just dragged down and down and down with no reprieve, no redemption, and I left the film feeling exhausted instead of pensive. I’m not sure that makes for a good movie, and I think the message of the film got lost.

This movie just goes from one bad thing to the other. You’re thrown in trenches, people dying everywhere immediately. More battles, more death, more battles, more death, bodies in trees, a room full of dead bodies, more battles, more death, flamethrowers, tanks, more death, amputations, death, hopelessness, and finally, more death. When then tanks first appeared .. already after so much misery, a stranger and I awkwardly giggled at each other in the theater, almost in disbelief that things were getting that much worse. It just never ended.

One thing I really loved about Uncle Carl’s All Quiet on the Western Front is that the lead, Paul, goes home briefly in the middle of the film and we see the stark contrast between his experience in the war, and the way everyone in his hometown perceives it.

They speak of the war pretty lightly, they’re so uninformed. The professor who inspired Paul to enlist urges him to tell his class how much fighting means to him and why they’re needed out there too. It leads to one of the greatest movie speeches of all time, “When it comes to dying for your country, it’s better not to die at all.”

Instead of Paul going home, Edward Berger added some scenes showing the behind-the-scenes negotiations to end the war. It shows the contrast between the soldiers giving their lives in squalor on the battlefield, and those in pretty plush situations negotiating their lives like a game. It gives us a villain, and adds to the idea that to many behind-the-scenes, the soldiers are just expendable bodies.

That being said, I can’t say I was blown away by the storyline, and I think that time could have been used on other stories - whether it’s Paul going home, building camaraderie between soldiers, or even some heartfelt conversation.

Lastly, spoiler alert: While Paul’s death is bleak, so very close to the end of the war, in this new version of All Quiet on the Western Front, I much prefer the original. In case you don’t remember, it’s a really beautiful moment where he reaches for a butterfly on the battlefield, and we hear a gunshot.

So what would Uncle Carl’s review of the film be? He would love that it’s being remade, and bringing attention back to his original film as well - though he would be disappointed to know what’s going on in the world that necessitates a film like this. His film didn’t hold back on showing the horrors of war, but I still think he’d be astonished at how far this one went. And knowing his heart, I think he would have wanted to see more humanity in the movie. I think he would have welcomed a little reprieve from time to time - not to glorify war or take away from the terror - but to give the audience some space to process and feel.

Overall, let me say, I’m so happy I watched this film, especially on a big screen. That being said, I will watch this movie one time and one time only. For me, it’s like Requiem for a Dream. It’s great. It’s intense. It’s beautiful. It’s crazy. I’ve checked it off the list and I never need to see it again.