Honest portrayal

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2012)

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.
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. 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.