All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

“Everything here is like a fever.”

Erich Maria Remarque’s iconic anti-war novel about WWI has been adapted a few times since it was published in 1929, and this latest iteration has earned a whopping 9 nominations at this year’s academy awards. Director Edward Berger focused his version on the cycles and systems of violence rather than a typical narrative, putting the blame for the bloodshed in the hands of the leaders. In this film, everyone is fed into a perpetual war machine that uniquely serves the egotistical whims of powerful men. There are no heroes in war.

Berger had only 52 days to shoot this epic, and wanted to tell the story using both long takes and practical effects. He and cinematographer James Friend spent months storyboarding every sequence so that they could keep the camera on Paul, the protagonist, and build a single journey through immeasurable chaos. They created an impressive visual motif of extra wide shots (using 65 mm film) that carry the audience between trenches and field hospitals, farmlands and palaces. The score adds an extra layer to the story and is impressively minimalistic. Composer Volker Bertelmann used a snare drum and his great-grandmother’s harmonium to build those staccato punctuations and those haunting, lingering chords.