"Pain, dirt, devastation..." The audience appreciated the new adaptation of Remarque's novel

Ivan Zubov

There is a lively discussion in Russian social networks about the new American film adaptation of the famous novel by the German Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front, which has just been released on the Netflix platform. The film is directed by Edward Berger and stars Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Sebastian Hulk, Edin Hasanovic, Anton von Luke and others.

The film's announcement reads: “They were torn out of their usual lives... They were thrown into the bloody mud of war... Once upon a time they were young men who learned to live and think. Now they are cannon fodder. Soldiers. And they learn - to survive and not to think. Thousands and thousands will lie forever on the fields of the First World War. Thousands and thousands of those who returned will still regret that they did not lie down with the dead. But for now, there is still no change on the Western Front..."

It is worth recalling that it was for the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, written in a record 6 weeks and becoming a world sensation in the late 1920s, that Remarque was nominated for the Nobel Prize. Already in 1929, the total circulation of the book reached 500,000 copies. However, this nomination was protested by the League of German Officers. Moreover, in May 1933, Remarque's book was publicly burned by the Nazis, and he himself was deprived of German citizenship.

There are two more adaptations of this novel: Hollywood (1930) and German (1979), and this one is made as close as possible to the plot of the novel itself, unlike the new one.

Those who have already seen this film almost unanimously speak about the shocking anti-war effect that it produced.

Political scientist Konstantin Kalachev notes that Erich Maria Remarque is always relevant:

“But one thing is a book, another is their film adaptation. Lust for power and ambitions of some, suffering and death of others, demagoguery, enthusiasm and cannon fodder. All this is shown extremely hard. The psychological breakdown of the generation scorched by the First World War is universal, timeless, although psychologists and psychiatrists will call it post-traumatic stress disorder much later. The film is worth finding on the Internet and watching to further realize the value of the world and human life. I recommend!"

The popular blogger BadGod believes that the blame for the wars lies not so much with politicians and military leaders, but with “ordinary people”:

“War is a shame, stupidity, ugliness and disease, and there is nothing heroic in it. This is the main message of this story, which must be understood, accepted and materialized, even though it will never be...

It is high time to admit that the blame does not lie entirely on rotten politicians, and on stupid ambitious military leaders... No. It's you - the "little man", "a pair of boots with a rifle"... You are the main culprit! Thousands, millions of weak-willed "you" who resignedly, like cattle, follow the lead of a few, for murder, for slaughter, because all "little people" are stupid and cruel. But stupidity does not justify anything. After all, you always kill and rape. So why feel sorry for you? What to sympathize with?

After all, politicians and generals will never clash on the battlefield. They will always agree in a warm, comfortable place. And you ... But who considers you a person? You are a number in someone else's calculations. Until you take responsibility and start making informed choices. Until then, they will write such books and make such films. Looked. Wasted time is not a pity, like all "little people" - dead, living and not yet born. Watch. Definitely".

Belarusian analyst Andrey Shuman predicted Oscars for the film

“I'm sure Im Westen nichts Neues will deserve an Oscar. For me, this is a great idea for a loop or cycle that ends with death, the removal of the uniform from the dead, washing it, darning it, and passing it on to the next recruit. This is the only meaning of war. Preserve the uniform and pass it on from the dead to the next new arrivals. Definitely the best movie of the year. I've predicted Oscars for The Revenant, Joker, and other films before. Absolutely confident in the new forecast…”

And blogger Borukh Gorin sadly states that great art is not capable of changing the real world:

“At the age of 13, I did not sleep at night because of the book “All Quiet on the Western Front”. And for the first time I understood why dad never bought us military toys - no pistols and tanks.

Now I'm 49, but last night, after watching the new adaptation, I was crushed again. Remarque has lost and is losing. Great literature has not changed the world in any way”.

Analyst Yevgeny Nelepko drew attention to the professional skills of the filmmakers:

“Probably, all films about the war are somewhat similar. On the one hand, it’s scary, on the other hand, the brain is already tired of the historical parallels that it draws itself.

Incredible film. At first I thought it was an attempt to ride on the success of Sam Mendes since 1917, but no. Strong drama, no worse than a literary source.

Separate rays of respect to the director. Keeping the artistic integrity in such a setup is quite difficult, in my opinion. He succeeded.

Special thanks to the sound designer, he mixed and remixed one motive for all the scenes and emotions of the film.

Director of photography (the main cameraman) worked here in general chic, such shots, scenery, plans. Although the operator also showed himself perfectly, he snatched out the details perfectly. Everything seems to be poppy, standard. But it turned out perfect. Individual details struck:

— clouds of blood droplets that are picked up by wind and smoke from explosions;

- the face of the protagonist was gradually covered with mud, until he completely switched to the dark side at the end of the film..."

However, there were other opinions, although very few. For example, journalist Andrei Desnitsky did not like the new film version of the novel:

“There is a wonderful film adaptation of Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” - a 1979 film. I highly recommend. And there's a high-budget 2022 Netflix Labuda that we tried to watch but couldn't get past..."