One of the great anti-war movie

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2015)

Early in the war, Germany is winning and everybody is eager to fight. A group of schoolboys are rallied by their jingoistic teacher to be the Iron Youth of Germany. They are trained by the hardened Himmelstoss. At the front, they find the war to be an ugly, muddy affair. Death and war is not the glory that they were looking for. The young Paul Bäumer struggles to save a french soldier after stabbing him. He returns home to confront his teacher. Then he ends in the horrors of the frontlines.
This is one of the great anti-war movie stemming from the first World War. It is heightened by the fact that the movie follows the German soldiers as if there is no difference in the war experience. It takes away the easy patriotism and jingo slogans. There is the great machine gun scene where soldiers are mow down like wheat. It hits the ugliness and the pointlessness of war hard. Also it's simply a well made film.