All Quiet on the Western Front

http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

This was originally entered on July 7, 2009, but in looking over the posts in order to label them, I discovered there was a technical problem that I couldn't fix except by re-posting.


A classic, plus a way of learning something about a book I've felt I should have read. 

As a depiction of war that tries to capture its cruel absurdity and the suffering it causes to those who take part, this is a meritorious movie indeed. It was somewhat lacking in narrative drive.  It didn't have one main character to care about--not its fault, but something that also vitiates a sense of narrative drive. Compared to more modern, more explicit and graphic depictions of violence and war, it seems pretty mild; it might even be possible to wonder just where the movie is coming from, since it avoids editorializing and in its way is understated. Even when the rats are fighting the soldiers for their food, the "ick" factor isn't that strong. The plot summary in Wikipedia highlights the absurdity more strongly than the movie seems to. Also things are just a bit stagey.  Honor to the movie, however, for its scrupulous treatment of its topic.