December 5, 2022 – Netflix's new adaptation of the classic story of the futility and horror of war goes above and beyond its source material to drive home these points. The source material is Erich Maria Remarque's 1929 classic, best-selling novel of the same name, based his experiences in World War One in the German Army.

This is the third film adaptation of the book. The first one, in 1930, won the Academy Award for best picture. The second one, in 1979, won a Golden Globe Award for best TV movie. This new version, made for an internet streaming platform (and it also played in some theaters) takes full advantage of a big budget and digital effects. All three films happen to be about the same length, 2.5 hours.

This new 2022 German language version of the film, made more than 100 years after the events depicted, is epic, with airplane and tank attacks, as well as realistic looking depictions of trench warfare and the “no man's land” between the opposing army trenches. This movie is directed by Edward Berger, who was born in Germany. The story, like its source material, remains focused on one man, the main character, Paul Bäumer (played by Felix Kammerer).

Inspired by a schoolmaster's stirring patriotic speech, Paul and his classmates join the German Army. The speech sounds a lot like some of Hitler's speeches. This is not the only foreshadowing of World War II in the film. In hindsight, it became apparent that the seeds of World War II were sown in the punitive details of the Armistice document ending the war, which took effect on the 11th hour of 11-11-1918, a date still observed as Veteran's Day in the U.S.

When Paul and his friends get to the front, they quickly learn that this not like the wars of the past. This is a new kind of mechanized war, with heavy artillery, tanks, planes, flame throwers, poison gas and machine guns that make it easy to kill thousands of men in a short amount of time. The brutal efficiency of the war machine is highlighted by the film's opening scenes in which soldiers killed in battle are stripped of their uniforms. The uniforms are bundled up and sent to facilities in Germany where they are cleaned and repaired by woman with sewing machines. The repaired uniforms are issued to newly recruited soldiers, including Paul and his friends.

One of Paul's friends is killed by heavy artillery only hours after arriving at the front. Paul and the other new recruits quickly learn that there are no heroes, there is no glory or honor in this war. It is largely a futile effort to gain a few feet of ground, only to lose it again. This war is a meat grinder accomplishing one thing above all else, the deaths of millions of people.

Paul is befriended by an older soldier, Stanislaus “Kat” Katczinsky (played by Albrecht Schuch) who, along with Albert Kropp (Aaron Hilmer) and Franz Müller (Moritz Klaus) are comrades in arms. While stationed behind the front, Paul and Kat sneak into a farm and steal a goose. They enjoy the goose meat as a real treat since they have been living near starvation on meager army rations.

Realizing the futility of war, they are not surprised when one of their comrades deserts the army, joining a small group of civilians fleeing the war. Over time, Paul sees his comrades die, one by one, as the war drags on. With only hours left before the Armistice takes effect, a German General Friedrichs (Devid Striesow) sends his men, including Paul, into battle, hoping for some glory before the war is over. Some 2,500 men needlessly died in the final hours of the war thanks to the vainglorious illusions of their leaders.

This is one of the departures from source material, since there was no real General Friedrichs, but such last-minute attacks did happen on both sides, ordered by men who wanted to win the last battle of the war. General Friedrichs did not approve of the armistice, and felt the civilian government has sold out its soldiers. American General John Pershing was another who did not approve of the armistice. He chose not to tell his commanders to suspend assaults in the final hours of World War One.

General Friedrichs' talk of being betrayed by the Armistice is another foreshadowing of World War II. Another hint of what is to come (and another departure from the source material) is in the form of Armistice negotiations. When German official Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Brühl of “Rush”) and others try to get more reasonable terms for Germany's surrender, they are rebuffed by the Supreme Allied Commander, Marshall Ferdinand Foch (Thibault de Montalembert of “The King”) who tells Erzberger and the other negotiators, “I reject any compromise.”

At the bargaining table, in a railroad car, Erzberger says, “Be fair to your opponent or else this peace will be hated.” Foch replies, “Fair? You speak of fairness?” Handing the armistice document to Erzberger, Foch says, “Sign it.” This is another foreshadowing of World War II in that the armistice agreement was, indeed, unfair, and it was hated in Germany. Years later, Hitler used that hatred, resentment and related phony conspiracy theories to fuel his rise to power. The peacemaker, Erzberger, was assassinated in 1921 by German right wing political extremists who viewed him as a traitor.

This movie goes way beyond the day to day struggles of the soldiers, in order to put the war into a larger context. Yet even this larger context reflects the same futility that Paul and the other soldiers see on the front, where nothing is accomplished, and nothing changes day to day, month to month, or year to year. It is all futile. This was “The War to End all Wars,” but of course it wasn't.

Wars haven't really changed much. It has been argued that despite the changes in weapons and technology, fortified positions in modern wars, like those in the current war in Ukraine, are still very difficult and costly to overcome. The war in Ukraine, like World War One, has become fairly static, pointless and costly in terms of lives and property lost and money spent fighting it.

This is a worthy adaptation of one of the greatest anti-war books ever written. It has all the horrors of war and none of the glory seen in many other war films. The lessons it teaches about war, while often ignored, are still valid. This is a story well told and brilliantly acted by a fine ensemble cast. The jarring, ominous musical score by Volker Bertelmann (“Ammonite”) and the cinematography by James Friend are also very effective. This film rates an A.

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