A wrenching German adaptation of the classic war novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” clinched the Academy Award for best international feature on Sunday with its timely anti-militarist message.
Nearly a century after the book by Erich Maria Remarque was published, the Netflix production capped a triumphant march through awards season with the Oscar win.
It was the first German-language film in Academy history to be up for best picture, among a surprise nine nominations.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated the filmmakers on their “huge success”.
“Especially in these difficult times, it shows unmistakably how terrible and inhuman war is,” he tweeted.
The film picked up three more Oscars, for best cinematography, best original score and best production design.
The last German winner of best international feature (a category then known as best foreign language film) was “The Lives of Others” in 2007.
Swiss director Edward Berger thanked his star, Felix Kammerer, an Austrian stage actor making his cinematic debut, saying: “Without you, none of us would be here.”
In “All Quiet on the Western Front”, World War I is viewed through the eyes of teenage German soldier Paul Baeumer (Kammerer), a volunteer on the Western front.
Once in the trenches, he quickly becomes aware of the absurdity of war and the patriotic brain-washing that got him there.
– ‘Shame, mourning and guilt’ –
In one of several graphic battle scenes which drew comparisons with Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”, Baeumer recognises his enemy’s shared humanity.
A year into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth hailed Berger’s epic when it scooped seven of Britain’s BAFTA prizes last month as “unfortunately the right film at the right time”.
“It tackles the horrors of a war in the heart of Europe in a harrowing way… with unflinching images no one will easily forget,” she said.
Berger, 52, told AFP in September, when the picture premiered, that the story was ripe for a fresh take.
“My film stands out from American or British (war) films made from the point of view of the victors,” he said.
“In Germany, there is always this feeling of shame, mourning and guilt (surrounding war). It was important for me to present this perspective.”
Published in 1929, the novel is one of the most influential examples of pacifist literature ever written, translated into more than 60 languages.
Just one year after the book came out, a US film adaptation by Lewis Milestone was released. It went on to win the Academy Awards for best picture and best director.
But its subversive message saw the work banned in Germany and targeted in the 1933 book burnings by the Nazis, who accused it of “betraying soldiers”.
Berger was previously best known for his 2018 Emmy-nominated miniseries “Patrick Melrose” starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
– ‘Strong emotional punch’ –
He said he was pushed to accept “All Quiet on the Western Front”…
