Post by Doomsday on Oct 29, 2022 1:35:54 GMT -5
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
You can approach this new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front in one of two ways. The first, as a stand alone war movie. The second, as a movie that ideally would be faithfully adapting one of the greatest war novels ever written. As a stand alone movie it's hard not to be moved in some way or another. It's a very harrowing, graphic film that puts the horror and brutality of World War I in focus. In fact I was often reminded more of Come and See versus a movie like 1917. It's very nicely shot and is full of intensity, brutality and drama. It's a war film that doesn't exactly break new ground but it does bring that violent, realistic focus to a war that seemed to be more or less overlooked in cinema until somewhat recently. There are some beautiful shots and the intensity is kept up throughout almost the entire film. It doesn't break the mold for the genre but it's a worthy addition.
Unfortunately for me, I approached this hoping to find a close adaptation of the novel, one of my all-time favorite books. And why wouldn't it follow the book closely? It contains themes that are relevant at any time and are relatable to people of any generation. This film though shares a title, setting, most main characters and a handful of key scenes. That's about where the similarities end. For reasons that escape me at the moment, the filmmakers decided that they would take an entirely new approach to the story that's being told. I'm not quite sure why as the story doesn't really need changing as far as I'm concerned. The novel, as powerful as it is, is quite an easy read and it's also easy to visualize many moments in the book through a cinematic lens. Also, the focus of the book wasn't to highlight the violence of war itself. It had violent scenes but it wasn't the purpose of the story. A reader would view the war through the eyes of Paul and his group of friends. You would experience the horrible things they witness but also the very personal scenes, scenes of happiness, loneliness, despair, and even hope. In this film though it often felt as though the violence and terror were the focuses which was my main concern going in. The characters of Paul, Kat, Tjaden and company were rich and vivid in the novel which is why their deaths were moving and tragic as you read them. It felt like the movie tried to finally move towards the theme of hopelessness and futility in war toward the end but it would have done the movie a service to focus on building these relationships a little more earlier in the film. The novel provided a fantastic road map to making a great film. That's why both adaptations have been award winning and very well received. This movie tried to retain some of what made the novel great while making its own story and entirely different subplots that don't exist whatsoever in the book. As a war movie, it's a flawed but successful effort that's very much worth your time. If you're looking for a faithful adaptation though, this isn't it. It could have been and they chose not to and to me that's disappointing.
B so says Doomsday
You can approach this new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front in one of two ways. The first, as a stand alone war movie. The second, as a movie that ideally would be faithfully adapting one of the greatest war novels ever written. As a stand alone movie it's hard not to be moved in some way or another. It's a very harrowing, graphic film that puts the horror and brutality of World War I in focus. In fact I was often reminded more of Come and See versus a movie like 1917. It's very nicely shot and is full of intensity, brutality and drama. It's a war film that doesn't exactly break new ground but it does bring that violent, realistic focus to a war that seemed to be more or less overlooked in cinema until somewhat recently. There are some beautiful shots and the intensity is kept up throughout almost the entire film. It doesn't break the mold for the genre but it's a worthy addition.
Unfortunately for me, I approached this hoping to find a close adaptation of the novel, one of my all-time favorite books. And why wouldn't it follow the book closely? It contains themes that are relevant at any time and are relatable to people of any generation. This film though shares a title, setting, most main characters and a handful of key scenes. That's about where the similarities end. For reasons that escape me at the moment, the filmmakers decided that they would take an entirely new approach to the story that's being told. I'm not quite sure why as the story doesn't really need changing as far as I'm concerned. The novel, as powerful as it is, is quite an easy read and it's also easy to visualize many moments in the book through a cinematic lens. Also, the focus of the book wasn't to highlight the violence of war itself. It had violent scenes but it wasn't the purpose of the story. A reader would view the war through the eyes of Paul and his group of friends. You would experience the horrible things they witness but also the very personal scenes, scenes of happiness, loneliness, despair, and even hope. In this film though it often felt as though the violence and terror were the focuses which was my main concern going in. The characters of Paul, Kat, Tjaden and company were rich and vivid in the novel which is why their deaths were moving and tragic as you read them. It felt like the movie tried to finally move towards the theme of hopelessness and futility in war toward the end but it would have done the movie a service to focus on building these relationships a little more earlier in the film. The novel provided a fantastic road map to making a great film. That's why both adaptations have been award winning and very well received. This movie tried to retain some of what made the novel great while making its own story and entirely different subplots that don't exist whatsoever in the book. As a war movie, it's a flawed but successful effort that's very much worth your time. If you're looking for a faithful adaptation though, this isn't it. It could have been and they chose not to and to me that's disappointing.
B so says Doomsday
