Not so Quiet on the Eastern Front

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2005)

For an American audience, this is an amazing movie to watch. Having no part in this story, this is a German / Russian look into World War 2. More than that, the movie is in a way, a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front. Several scenes in Stalingrad are mimics of the original World War 1 masterpiece. The movie begins in paradise as the German soldiers prepare to leave for the battle front. From the start, we begin at the garden of Eden and end up traveling into the belly of the beast at eh gates of hell. The look into the Axis army as more than just foot soldiers for Hitler's pride is more than interesting. The audience gets to see a human side to the soldiers who were not just pawns in Hitler's idea. The ending alone shows a human side to every solider. Frozen in time for the audiences favor, the historical event is placed on stage for us to view. Much like reaching for the youth and innocence of a butterfly, the two soldiers holding onto one another as they take their final breath is equally as human and just. More than an anti-war movie, this is part of our history and is a story than needed to be told.