All Quiet on the Eastern Front

What the movie can teach us about the war in Ukraine

It’s been a long since I’ve watched the Academy Awards, let alone any other award ceremony. Still, I try to keep track of what’s going on in pop culture, and much to the surprise of everyone, the German-made film All Quiet on the Western Front beat out the award season frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once for the BAFTA, so I finally decided to watch it.

The movie, loosely based on the novel of the same name, tells the story of Paul Bäumer, played brilliantly by Felix Kammerer, and his journey enlisting in the Imperial German Army as an enthusiastic supporter of the war. During the next 18 months, his romantic view of war, conquest, and patriotism is torn to shreds as he witnesses death, destruction, and the horrors of trench warfare. Behind the scenes, politician Matthias Erzberger (based on a real person) works to end the war as he sees the toll surge. Minutes before the film ends, Germany launches one last siege on France, and young Bäumer dies after being speared in the chest by a bayonet.

All Quiet on the Western Front is gripping, the cinematography is impressive, and the story is sadly timeless. War is a force that gives us meaning and destroys both the souls and bodies of men.