This year, Netflix secretly unveiled new pictures for its planned version of All Quiet on the Western Front. The film is based on the novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque, which was published in 1929 and immediately banned across Europe for its anti-war message. As a result of this personal experience, the book was hailed by pacifists as an important contribution to literature. As with the novel and the 1930 Academy Award-winning version, the picture will be based on the same story. Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) is the central character of All Quiet on the Western Front, and he joins his classmates in volunteering for the war effort.
When he is thrust into the brutality of trench combat, he is confronted with the unending misery that war brings. Because the original novel was based on Remarque’s actual experiences during World War I, it seems reasonable that the film will include real-life characters from that time period. According to previous rumours, Daniel Brühl would play Matthias Erzberger, and based on the new photographs, it appears that those rumours were true. Erzberger served as Germany’s Minister of Finance from 1919 until he was forced to resign in 1920. Due to his signature of the armistice, which ended World War I, he was considered a traitor by Germans and was killed in 1921. German filmmaker Edward Berger, who wrote the script with Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson, directed All Quiet on the Western Front.
According to an interview with Netflix, Berger explained why he decided to adapt Remarque’s work, saying: “My childhood in Germany gave me the impression that we would carry the burden of two wars with us throughout our lives. My children are still affected by this. I needed to see things from a German perspective. To us, war is suffering and humiliation, remorse for the dead, devastation and remorse for the survivors. I thought it was a great and exciting task to make our history, our heritage, and our attitude toward war the driving force of the picture at the same time. If you were reared in Germany, you had to be the subject of a film that I intended to produce.” Albrecht Schuch, Moritz Klaus, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, Devid Striesow, and Sebastian Hülk also feature in All Quiet on the Western Front. Brühl, together with Malte Grunert of Amusement Park and Daniel Dreifuss, co-produced the picture.
Later this year, Netflix will show film throughout the world.