TEHRAN – The Cinematheque of the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) will screen the Austrian-German-Swiss director Edward Berger’s movie ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ in the Nasseri Hall of the forum on Thursday.  

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is a 2022 epic anti-war film based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. It is the third film adaptation of the book, after the 1930 and 1979 versions. Directed by Edward Berger, it stars Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Bruhl, Sebastian Hulk, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, and Devid Striesow.

Set during World War I, it follows the life of an idealistic young German soldier named Paul Baumer. After enlisting in the German Army with his friends, Baumer finds himself exposed to the realities of war, shattering his early hopes of becoming a hero as he does his best to survive. The film adds a parallel storyline not found in the book, which follows the armistice negotiations to end the war.

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022, and was released to streaming on Netflix on October 28. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards its tone, the cinematography, the makeup, the performances, Volker Bertelmann's musical scores, Berger's direction, and its faithfulness to the source material's anti-war message.

It received a leading 14 nominations at the 76th British Academy Film Awards (winning seven, including Best Film) and nine at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won four: Best International Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. The four wins tied ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ with ‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982), ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000), and ‘Parasite’ (2019) as the most-awarded foreign language film in the Oscars' history. It was nominated in twelve categories for the 2023 German Film Awards, and won eight, plus the Silver Award for Best Picture.

Photo: A poster for a screening session of Edward Berger’s movie ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran.

ZM/