Edward Berger’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

An intense, visceral and beautiful film with an incredibly effective minimalist score and breathtaking cinematography that says as much about inequality as it does war

With moments that evoke Tarkovsky’s “Ivan’s Childhood” and Elem Klimov’s “Come and See”, Edward Berger’s interpretation of Erich Maria Remarque’s book of the same name (the first in German) has a heft that balances the fleeting moments of beauty with the grueling cadence of war. Cinematographer James Friend does exceptional work here that can stand among some of the best put to screen. In addition, Volker Bertelmann’s minimal but evocative score drops a brutal sting at key points over the course of the film that is effective in conveying the war cadence I mentioned. I believe it drops eleven times echoing the armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (don’t hold me to that).

The film opens on a beautiful, eerily silent forest near the western front with a symbol of innocence in the form of a fox and her cubs tucked away in their den. Further into the film, the fox is echoed in the exploits of starving soldiers looking to steal from a remote farm. We then move onto Paul Bäumer(Felix Kammerer) whose piercing blue eyes reminded me of Aleksei Kravchenko in “Come and See”. At first the nationalism and excitement in anticipation of serving is a point of celebration for Paul and his friends. It’s a chance to be heroes or that’s what they’re being sold even as they’re being given the renewed uniforms of the dead.

An epic journey follows that is harrowing, insightful and often surprising. The script by Ian Stokell, Lesley Paterson and Edward Berger is well-paced and unfolds naturally enhancing the impact of its overall story while deftly seeding subtle symbolism.

Among the best of the 2022 releases.