Antiwar ‘All Quiet’ wins the Oscar for international film

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A war film that hates war has won the Oscar for best international film.

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” starring Felix Kammerer and directed and co-written by Edward Berger, earned nine nominations, including Best Picture.

It also won Sunday Night Oscars for Cinematography, Production Design and Original Score.

Kammerer as well as others involved in the film joined Berger on stage.

“It was your first film and you carried us on your shoulders because it was nothing,” he told the 27-year-old Austrian actor. “Without you, none of us would be here.”

The Netflix film is based on the 1929 classic novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Set during World War I, it follows the life of a young German soldier who enlists in the army along with his friends. But the realities of war shatter his hopes of becoming a hero and he focuses on his own survival.

However, the German-language film is not exactly based on Remarque’s novel. Instead, it deviates from political issues against the backdrop of war. It premiered last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine in the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War II, giving the film an unexpected relevance.

Cinematography winner James Friend said of the war in Ukraine, “It’s absolutely horrific.” “It’s a lesson we can really learn from.”

“All Quiet on the Western Front” won seven BAFTA trophies, including Best Film.

The original American film starring Lew Ayres debuted in 1930 and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.

It was later made into a television movie starring Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine, which won an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” beat Argentina’s “Argentina, 1985”, Belgium’s “Close”, Poland’s “Eau” and Ireland’s “The Quiet Girl”.

,

For more coverage of this year’s Academy Awards, visit: