Production Company: Universal
Leads: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray
"This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure for those who stand face to face with it" - Opening credit
Setting
Germany, World War 1
The Plot
The film opens with soldiers marching through town being cheered off to war.
The story follows Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres) and his classmates, heading off to war having been convinced to enlist after hearing Professor Kantorek wax lyrical about the honour of fighting for the Fatherland.
The film looks at the impact of war on the soldiers themselves versus the opinions of those back home following the war via media.
The Review
It is an excellent portrayal of the effects of war on the soldiers themselves. Aside from the French being referred to as the enemy, the film seems to steer clear of taking a particular opinion on the war, focusing instead on the young soldiers and their experiences.
The film covered several aspects of war: the young men with the dreams of war, the excitement, the camaraderie, the despair, the insanity...and even a touch of romance with some French girls.
Baumer has two particularly touching yet contrasting scenes, one watching a close friend pass away in the hospital and the other watching an enemy soldier die after he mortally wounds him.
There is a stark contrast between the Baumer who left for war ready to fight for his country, and the changed Baumer who came home on leave and told his former professor's new class exactly why they shouldn't sign up. "It's dirty and painful to die for your country", he tells them, much to the professor's annoyance. Baumer was unable to accept that people's attitudes to the war remained supportive and patriotic when he had been so changed by it.
It's interesting to note that some scenes were deemed so realistic they were used in genuine WW1 documentaries many years later, so if you were wondering which gutsy cameramen were wading through the mud filming the action...now you know!
What I liked most of all about this film is that it left more questions than answers, it did not force any particular opinion on World War 1 or war in general. It seemed to show a realistic portrayal of life in the trenches, fighting a war the soldiers themselves didn't really seem to understand.
Expert food-forager Katczinsky (Louis Wolheim) does come up with a novel approach to how a war could be fought:
"Whenever there's a war coming on, you should rope off a big field...and on the big day you should take all the kings and their cabinets and their generals, put 'em in the centre dressed in their underpants and let 'em fight it out with clubs. The best country wins."
I like that idea immensely.
The Slap
I am issuing this to Professor Kantorek; not so much for patriotically encouraging these boys to go to war but rather for refusing to give up his stance despite former student Baumer standing in front of him with a dose of reality.
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