All Quiet on the Western Front (Mini Review)

This might be the first sound movie that tries to say something.

While the film does meander it manages to be both its greatest asset and weakness. To recreate the experience of war Milestone tries to cover as much as area as he can. Going over the trench, returning from the trenches, seeing women, returning home, etc. Each section, except for the chapter with the French women, worked brilliantly on their own. Except, the film never felt like it was greater than the sum of its parts.

Milestone's directing seemed to predate David Lean's technical finesse. There's a montage following a pair of boots that are tied together through editing and next to no actors. There were other moments where nothing was happening (or I thought a shot was longer than what it was), establishing shots are used in a wasted fashion. Had Lean directed this it would have been propelled to new heights.

Like the plot, the ideas are often undeveloped. The main group of soldier talk about why they’re fighting the English and why they’re fighting them. The conversations are reminiscent of ones you can hear in most war films. Except, this was 1930. Sound was only a new invention so I’m guessing Milestone and the writers took this opportunity to talk about such things in this new format. I doubt any American films used sound in such a way up until this point. While I didn’t care for what was being said too much as it didn’t arouse any new ideas or perspectives, the groundwork for what came after was rife. With tensions starting to build in 1930 towards WW2 I’m sure the production was consciously trying to convince people war is far more barbaric than it seems. The one idea I liked was that dying for your country isn’t all that patriotic.

To highlight the casualties of war you need actors to reinterpret what actually happens. We’re shown plenty of moments in no man’s land and the trenches of people dying, going crazy and even both. The cast manages, for the most part, manage to not getting too exaggerated. The actors who do it well enough bring the feeling of shell-shock and psychological trauma into the cinema and therefore the audience. With every bomb, a man’s nerves are broken more and more, and so are ours. It was certainly ahead of its time. In another brilliant sequence, the main character Paul, stabs a man in a crater in No Man's Land. He lies there realising this man is going to die. He tries to help but he can't get any as a return to his trench will mean he gets shot. The man's slow death takes it toll. An audacious and open-minded approach to the life of a human being receives my appraise. If it is truly all quiet on the western front it must be a painful, quiet death. Which was what the soldier who was stabbed is the epitome of.

Towards the end the main character, Paul, speaks to the same class he was in when he left for war. Halfway through the moment, I realised this is the modern equivalent of an Oscar speech given in most Oscar bait movies today. The moment wasn’t built up to in a theatrical sense. The scene before it Paul’s father was talking about the push to Paris with some of his colleagues around the table. For a while, we can’t see Paul’s face but one can still easily sense his discomfort and lack of a connection to these people.

For 1930 the battle sequences were extremely visceral. Shots of blood, men missing a limb (without the gore), men dying as they’re running and, even some quick shots of limbs. These set pieces truly set the standard for action sequences for years to come. It’s just a shame the films that followed went for a more stylised approach, often pussyfooting around the harsh realities of war. If a new sound mix was commissioned, which I personally hope doesn’t happen as we should see the film as it was made in 1930, a more immersive experience would come about. The sounds of bombs falling and exploding are turned down. I imagine this was to prevent scarring the people of the 30s.

As countries like Japan are loosening the laws about the size of the military and a North Korea-USA nuclear war was on the table for some time earlier this year it makes you wonder exactly how many people with power know how much war will cost. Lewis Milestone and the book it’s based off by Erich Maria Remarque certainly seem to know that cost. A conscious effort to spread this is undeniably present here. While I would’ve liked a more focused approach, the intent is clear and should not be forgotten.

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