Brave, stark, and grimly realistic (possible spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2002)

This is a moving and powerful film which is even more remarkable for the fact that it was made in America during the 1930s. This is one of the few American-made war movies brave and openminded enough to be shown from the "other side's" point of view, in this case the Germans. While Lew Ayres may be a little theatrical sometimes, his last few scenes are incredibly moving, especially because this movie pulls you in and makes you care about these people. Also brave for staying true to Herr Remarque's novel and not Hollywoodizing the ending into something uplifting that would leave the audience feeling good. War is not supposed to make you feel good. It is a sad, tragic thing, and this movie deserves respect for presenting it in such a truthful fashion. I'm not a big fan of war movies, mostly because Germans are invariably presented as bloodthirsty morons, which may be true of the Nazis but is a slap in the face to German soldiers who fought and hoped and suffered and died just as much as anyone, if not more so. This movie actually presents the enemy as human beings with feelings and morals and families and fears and dreams just like our side, and that makes me respect it and the people who put it together even more (I'm not just saying this because I'm German-American) This movie is more truthful than most made after it, even today when the quality of filmmaking should be better than ever and the world wars should be far enough behind us for the "enemy" to be portrayed in an honest manner.
10/10