Edward Berger's adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's classic novel is a perfect example of a director with clear technical skill and resources, a good cast of actors, and a Cliff's Notes approach to the source material. The result is a film that provides plenty of visual and sonic evidence of the horror of war, but strips away much of what made the source material special, like depicting the camaraderie of soldiers on the front lines, in favor of inserting irrelevant collateral material. As such, while this film should definitely be an Oscar contender for technical awards, it really has no place in the Best Picture (and, perhaps, not even the Best Foreign Language Picture) nominations.
First, on the good side of the film, the visuals and the sound are excellent, rivaling Sam Mendes' 1917 on that score, and giving the viewer a real sense of the shock and horror of massive artillery barrages and futile frontal infantry assaults. On this score, Markus Steiner's sound design and James Friend's cinematography and the visual effects are strong contenders for the Oscar. Likewise, the performances of Felix Kammerer as Paul and (especially) Albrecht Schuch as Kat are excellent, especially given the fact that the script removes much of the best character material from them and the rest of their comrades. Indeed, for the first half of the picture, it seems as though this is going to be an adaptation to rival its 1930 and 1979 brethren - that's when it goes wrong.
Much of the problem comes from the fact that the character material at the heart of the book (and the earlier adaptations) has been taken out, giving us no means by which to differentiate the characters at the point in which their fates really start to be jeopardized. Instead, behind the scenes material involving the "negotiations" between the Germans and the French and British (which still feature good, but irrelevant, performances from Daniel Brühl and Thibault de Montalembert, as German Minister Matthias Erzberger and French Field Marshal Foch, respectively), as well as the machinations of a fictional German General who wants nothing more than for the war to continue, regardless of the cost. The purpose of this bait and switch isn't really clear, as it adds absolutely nothing to the film.
The other problem comes with the ending, where in the last push, Paul's last moments come with a mano-on-mano battle with various French soldiers in the trenches, only for him to be stabbed from behind by a hidden French soldier. Rather than a poignant statement on the futility of what soldiers are being asked to die for, it plays more like an effort to gin up the excitement; whatever excitement it might gin up in others (it played more as laughable for me), it obscures what makes the source material and its imagery so powerful. Moreover, I doubt that Berger intended it this way, but the image of Paul being "stabbed in the back" at the proverbial end of the war sends a potentially disturbing - and odious - message for anyone familiar with the inter-war history of Germany.
Directorial vision and license is a critical part of any film, to be sure. Unfortunately, to the extent any directorial vision is apparent in this adaptation, it either comes off as utterly muddled or works directly contrary to the themes and intent of its source material. That's a shame, since this is clearly the most technically accomplished adaptation of Remarque's work to date.
RATING: 4 stars out of 10.
First, on the good side of the film, the visuals and the sound are excellent, rivaling Sam Mendes' 1917 on that score, and giving the viewer a real sense of the shock and horror of massive artillery barrages and futile frontal infantry assaults. On this score, Markus Steiner's sound design and James Friend's cinematography and the visual effects are strong contenders for the Oscar. Likewise, the performances of Felix Kammerer as Paul and (especially) Albrecht Schuch as Kat are excellent, especially given the fact that the script removes much of the best character material from them and the rest of their comrades. Indeed, for the first half of the picture, it seems as though this is going to be an adaptation to rival its 1930 and 1979 brethren - that's when it goes wrong.
Much of the problem comes from the fact that the character material at the heart of the book (and the earlier adaptations) has been taken out, giving us no means by which to differentiate the characters at the point in which their fates really start to be jeopardized. Instead, behind the scenes material involving the "negotiations" between the Germans and the French and British (which still feature good, but irrelevant, performances from Daniel Brühl and Thibault de Montalembert, as German Minister Matthias Erzberger and French Field Marshal Foch, respectively), as well as the machinations of a fictional German General who wants nothing more than for the war to continue, regardless of the cost. The purpose of this bait and switch isn't really clear, as it adds absolutely nothing to the film.
The other problem comes with the ending, where in the last push, Paul's last moments come with a mano-on-mano battle with various French soldiers in the trenches, only for him to be stabbed from behind by a hidden French soldier. Rather than a poignant statement on the futility of what soldiers are being asked to die for, it plays more like an effort to gin up the excitement; whatever excitement it might gin up in others (it played more as laughable for me), it obscures what makes the source material and its imagery so powerful. Moreover, I doubt that Berger intended it this way, but the image of Paul being "stabbed in the back" at the proverbial end of the war sends a potentially disturbing - and odious - message for anyone familiar with the inter-war history of Germany.
Directorial vision and license is a critical part of any film, to be sure. Unfortunately, to the extent any directorial vision is apparent in this adaptation, it either comes off as utterly muddled or works directly contrary to the themes and intent of its source material. That's a shame, since this is clearly the most technically accomplished adaptation of Remarque's work to date.
RATING: 4 stars out of 10.