PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Edward Berger, director of the film Im Westen nichts Neues / All Quiet on the Western Front.
At the 18th Zurich Film Festival, Edward Berger presents his new film, All Quiet on the Western Front, the first German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s pacifist world bestseller. The director comments on his approach to the topic of war, his way of portraying it through the eyes of the young boys who had been brainwashed into thinking World War I was going to be fast and victorious and instead, they found death and violence.
Im Westen nichts Neues / All Quiet on the Western Front: Germany, World War I. A romanticised idea of heroism motivates the student Paul Bäumer to volunteer for the army at the age of 19. Full of patriotic zeal, he completes basic training before going to the Western Front with his comrades. In the trenches, however, it’s not long before Paul’s worldview is shattered and he is forced to experience first-hand how initial euphoria turns into fear and despair. With Im Westen nichts Neues, Edward Berger directs the first German film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s pacifist world bestseller. With a great ensemble cast including Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch and Devid Striesow, the result is a gripping drama that impressively demonstrates the absurdity and brutality of war.
From the book by Charles Graeber, Eddie Redmayne plays Charles Cullen, the serial killer nurse who managed to kill so many people thanks to his compassionate ways and his ability to become invisible