All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Directed by Edward Berger - 8/10

Since the oldest oral traditions were passed down, storytelling has been naturally adapting and transforming itself for the times. Retelling and remaking is not a new phenomena, but contemporary remakes are driven by contemporary motives. Whether a remake is a positive or negative addition to the lineage of a story, the near universal problem with film remakes is that the creators seem almost exclusively interested in out-doing the previous versions. This common fault was my main concern with the recent remake of All Quiet on the Western Front, the third cinematic telling of the classic novel. But the film undermines the phenomenon entirely. All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) is not limited to existence exclusively within the shadow of its predecessor, nor does cast a shadow upon its inspiration. 

Instead of facing the pitfalls of many remakes, the 2022 remake constructively pays homage to the groundbreaking aspects of the original 1930 film, while carving a new path in areas where its predecessor falters. Lewis Milestone’s 1930 film was certainly a trailblazer, but it is also an obvious product of the filmmaking of its time. The film’s pacing is flawed, and the percussive and brutal battlefield scenes are undermined by the whiney dialogue that brings the cinematic momentum to a grinding halt. Coming only three years after The Jazz Singer, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) exists in the short but distinct period of pre-“Hays Code” Hollywood, when intense violence on screen was briefly unregulated. The striking visuals are undercut by the irritating dialogue, as filmmakers had yet to refine the incorporation of audio into the medium.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) certainly recognizes this fault of the previous film, and is not bogged down with tedious dialogue. Instead, it drops us straight into the action during the first act, but during the second and third, it gradually employs the conversational perspectives of governing officials and commanders in contrast to front line soldiers. Though it is a much tighter production than the original, the meandering second half could still use an additional pass through the editing room. Fortunately, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) wraps up with a tighter, albeit less poetic, conclusion than its predecessor. 

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)’s performances, notably by breakout star Felix Krammerer, are expertly balanced with the landscape. Along with the minor faults in pacing, the performances are what drive the film to an occasional dip into melodrama. It is never quite overbearing, but it is noticeably disorienting, contrasting the masterful technique of the cinematography, score, and editing, which prevents the film from wallowing in melodrama. 

The film takes as much care with its characters as it does with its environment, and its cinematography creates an interwoven investment in the decimation of both the soldiers and the world around them. The cinematography is strikingly gorgeous but not overzealous in any sense of beautifying the trenches, and it avoids quick cuts and shaky cameras by framing peaceful and largely static shots as seen in WWI classics like Paths of Glory.

Any war film is sanitized in contrast to reality, but All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)’s dramatic and bleak cinematography and direction allow the film to come fairly close to being fully immersive. On occasion, it walks the line between an imperative display of brutality and a gratuitous showcase of needless barbarity that serves only to shock, but the film is far more sobering and solemn than it is gawking.

All Quiet On the Western Front (2022) is a straightforward and explicit indictment of senseless violence. Its occasional faults never undermine the strength and power of its thesis, and its masterful craftsmanship enhances the legacy of the story. 

All Quiet on the Western Front was released on October 28 and is currently streaming on Netflix.