All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is a 2022 German epic anti-war film based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. It is the third film adaptation of the book, after the 1930 and 1979 versions. Directed by Edward Berger, it stars Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl, Sebastian Hülk, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, and Devid Striesow. Set during World War I, it follows the life of an idealistic young German soldier named Paul Bäumer. After enlisting in the German Army with his friends, Bäumer finds himself exposed to the realities of war, shattering his early hopes of becoming a hero as he does his best to survive. The film adds a parallel storyline not found in the book, which follows the armistice negotiations to end the war. All Quiet on the Western Front premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022, and was released to streaming on Netflix on October 28. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards its tone, the cinematography, the makeup, the performances, Volker Bertelmann's musical scores, Berger's direction, and its faithfulness to the source material's anti-war message. It received a leading 14 nominations at the 76th British Academy Film Awards (winning seven, including Best Film) and nine at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won four: Best International Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. The four wins tied All Quiet on the Western Front with Fanny and Alexander (1982), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and Parasite (2019) as the most-awarded foreign language film in the Oscars' history. It was nominated in twelve categories for the 2023 German Film Awards, and won eight, plus the Silver Award for Best Picture. Plot In 1917, three years into World War I, 17-year-old Paul Bäumer enlists in the Imperial German Army alongside friends Albert Kropp, Franz Müller, and Ludwig Behm. They listen to a patriotic speech by a school official and unknowingly receive uniforms from soldiers killed in a previous battle. After they are deployed in Northern France near La Malmaison, they are befriended by Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky, an older soldier. Their romantic view of the war is shattered by the realities of trench warfare on the Western Front, and Ludwig is killed by artillery on the first night.