All Quiet on the Western Front Family Review

A young German soldier's terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.The story follows teenagers Paul Bäumer and his friends Albert and Müller, who voluntarily enlist in the German army, riding a wave of patriotic fervor that quickly dissipates once they face the brutal realities of life on the front. Paul's preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict soon crumble. However, amid the countdown to armistice, Paul must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass' desire to end the war on a German offensive.At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer (Thomas) is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.Germany, 1917. With dreams of serving the Fatherland and Kaiser Wilhelm II, idealistic 17-year-old Paul Bäumer and his chest-thumping schoolmates enlist en masse in the Imperial German Army three years after the outbreak of World War I. And with a mind aflame with patriotic fervour instilled by their jingoistic teacher's rousing speeches, the unripe defenders fantasise about performing heroic feats as they march into battle-scarred Northern France. Instead, the chaos of trench warfare and the horrors of war await the inexperienced brothers-in-arms, who now risk life and limb for the glory of Germany. As the irrefutable certainty of death crushes the companions' romantic visions, Paul must fight tooth and nail to stay alive until the Armistice of 11 November 1918 takes effect and the guns on the Western Front fall silent. After all, war is a game for politicians and generals; for the common soldier, it is a waltz of death on the battlefield.—Nick Riganas