Soon, a new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front will be available on Netflix. The famous book was initially published in 1928 by a German newspaper before being published as a book the following January.
Due to its anti-war themes, All Quiet on the Western Front was a controversial work at the time, leading to its ban in Europe.
Since its initial publication, Remarque’s narrative has been remade multiple times, most famously in 1930 by Lewis Milestone. The adaption directed by Milestone went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
All Quiet on the Western Front, a pacifist novel, permeated American society, and its message impacted many outspoken anti-war celebrities such as Bob Dylan.
The novel will be adapted for Netflix by German director Edward Berger (whose previous work includes Deutschland 83, Patrick Melrose, and Your Honor), based on a story he co-wrote with Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell.
All Quiet On The Western Front Ending Explained
General of the German forces on the Western Front sends a mission led by Matthias Erzberger to negotiate an armistice with the French. However, he has no desire for peace.
In a conversation with Major Von Brixdorf, the General explains that social democrats will drag his country to ruin and sell it off, thus he plans to continue fighting. He orders an all-out assault against the French.
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Once again, Paul and his pals are dispatched to the front lines, and a massive battle ensues. Initially, the Germans take the upper hand by advancing up the battlefield and seizing a French trench.
However, as flame throwers, tanks, and fighter planes are introduced by the enemy, the Germans are forced to retire. Franz and Albert are killed, while Paul and a French soldier are trapped in a crater.
He defeats him and repeatedly stabs him before cramming dirt into his mouth to silence him. Paul is shocked by his actions and seeks to save the Frenchman since he now understands the brutality of war.
Unfortunately, he cannot assist. He then discovers a photograph of the deceased soldier’s family and falls down, realizing that he had no cause to continue killing people he didn’t know.
Paul returns to base as night approaches and word of a possible end to the war begins to circulate. The young soldier is ecstatic to discover Kat and Tjaden alive. However, the latter is injured in the leg and fears becoming a cripple.
Paul and Kat bring him food, but Tjaden ends his torment by stabbing himself in the neck with a fork. The next day, Kat is confident that the peace treaty has been signed because the entire area is silent.
The pair steals eggs from the same farmer’s residence. Paul is locked inside the barn by the farmer’s son, but he manages to escape. He feeds Kat uncooked eggs before she relieves herself in the woods.
Unfortunately, the son of the farmer pursues Kat and fatally kills him. Matthias Erzberger and his delegation met the French military commanders, who presented them with a set of non-negotiable requirements, confirming Kat’s intuition.
On November 11, 1918, after checking with headquarters, Matthias signs the peace pact. It has been decided that the cease-fire will commence at 11 a.m. Paul, having lost all of his companions, prepares to return home.
As it is not even 11 a.m., the general, enraged by the decision of peace, decides to launch one last assault against the French at Lapierre. The German soldiers are dissatisfied with the choice, but after the protesters are executed, the remaining soldiers prepare for one more battle.
Paul teaches and engages in combat with a young French soldier. The two fall down the steps into a bunker without engaging in combat.
As a beaten Paul observes his adversary, he recognizes his own unwillingness to fight. Sadly, another soldier stabs Paul from behind, causing the young man to collapse and die.
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At that very time, the clock strikes 11 and a cease-fire is declared. Another young German soldier collecting dog tags discovers Paul’s lifeless body as the video fades to dark following the conclusion of the fight.
Text on-screen reveals that the Western Front’s front line scarcely shifted over the war’s first four years. Here, three million individuals perished while attempting to seize a few hundred meters of land. In addition, about 17 million lives were lost in total throughout the First World War.