Welcome to the latest adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel – he was an infantryman in the First World War – about a group of German teens who join the Kaiser’s army with confidence and enthusiasm. Of course, these feelings soon disappear in the stinking trench warfare of 1914-18 and the movie rapidly turns into an anti-war diatribe. Apparently, this remake is one of the most expensive movies of our time and is marketed by Netflix.
The movie stars Golden Globe nominee Daniel Bruhl and is currently in its post-production stage. The horrors of the conflict and the daily slaughter of young men is shown in graphic detail. The political message is that the teens end up fighting and dying simply to satisfy the German top brass idea that Germany might lose the war but must go out with a strong offensive. No matter how high the casualties pile up.
