All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
From Edward Berger
The movie I chose was All Quiet on the Western Front. A film where we experience war through the viewpoint of a young German Soldier. It's a dark, gritty, and tragic anti-war film that depicts the brutality of war. This is a drama and action packed film that has many carefully crafted shots, movements, sounds, and elements with meanings in each one.
The beginning of the movie starts with steady shots of a quiet morning. The woods and animals are calm and provide a peaceful scene. This is in heavy contrast to the future loud and chaotic war. This clip then transitions to an aerial shot of a battle ground, where it slowly tilts and utilizes a slow push in. The silence of the forest to the transition of a battlefield quickly develops into a chaotic battle scene. Audiences are now quickly drawn into the heat of the battle.
A little while after the opening, the main character is introduced. He is a young adult who hasn’t experienced war. He doesn’t understand its seriousness and believes that it's an honor to serve. The clip begins with a long shot of the fresh troops singing and marching. It then displays a medium shot with their faces emphasized. They smile and sing, marching towards their doom unknowingly. Sound design in this scene also creates contrast. Their smiling faces, enthusiastic singing, and marching, conflict with the music. Audience members may feel dread as the score is ominous and intimidating. They can expect something bad is going to happen to the new soldiers.
The next scene happens in the aftermath of a battle a while after the scene previously mentioned. The main character, now having experienced the war first hand, must collect tags off his deceased comrades. In this scene, it uses a pull out camera movement that takes us farther from the protagonist and reveals the surroundings. This movement helps audiences take in the environment and devastation that occurred. It invokes a feeling of sadness and despair. Within the scene, the music is also calm and melancholy which further emphasizes the tragicness of war.
Halfway through the protagonist's account, he rests at a camp and uses the bathroom. He has a friend that he met during the war with him and they read a letter from home. Unlike most of the film, this scene is bright and uses the sun to illuminate the characters' faces. Shallow focus is used throughout the scene to show their facial expressions and emotions. The clip also makes use of a two-shot and closeups to capture their emotions. Audience members can empathize with this clip as we see that they are missing home and the effects of war are taking its toll.
Finally, the last clip depicts the lead up to the final battle. The war has ended but we see that our protagonist and his fellow troops are not celebrating. Instead, it shows a wide shot again, where the soldiers are marching in silence. It then utilizes a zoom which focuses on the protagonist's face. He no longer is smiling and shows no emotions. Audiences can see that the war has ruined the once happy and proud soldier. It zooms into a closeup shot of his face. Transitioning into a tracking shot, audiences see the contrast of soldiers celebrating the end while we know what is coming. They are supposed to feel dread and tension. This scene ends with a trucking movement following the protagonist in silence as they approach in silence.
To conclude, this film uses many movements, shots, and sounds to convey the idea that war is dreadful and tragic. The scenes I chose made use of closeups, tracking, sounds, and other film elements to give audience members different feelings. These also convey a message that the producer was trying to emphasize.
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