Edward Berger opened up on his connection with the anti-war epic, based on a 1929 novel (Picture: Getty/Netflix)
The director of All Quiet on the Western Front has described his film as a ‘funnel’ for all the ‘shame and guilt’ that Germans feel towards the First World War.
Edward Berger, who is from Wolfsburg, Germany, also said that the story was a way of ‘dealing’ with the ‘responsibility’ that he feels the country has towards history.
The fuse for World War One was lit by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – heir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne – in June 1914 by a Serbian-backed terrorist.
Germany supported Austro-Hungary in declaring war on Serbia shortly afterwards.
As alliances throughout Europe saw countries take sides, Germany – an ambitious and power-hungry new nation – declared war on rivals Russia and then France, before violating Belgian neutrality, which brought Britain – trying to protect its empire and own interests – into the conflict.
Speaking during a virtual Bafta panel with his fellow directing nominees ahead of the awards ceremony on Sunday, Berger discussed his approach to making the film, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay, saying that it came ‘from inside’ of him.
All Quiet on the Western Front follows idealistic young German soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer, R) in the final days of the war (Picture: Netflix/Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock)
He also explained that it wasn’t making a statement on current wars, such as the conflict in Ukraine, as the 52-year-old finds it very hard to be a ‘messenger’ with his work.
Berger commented: ‘We obviously didn’t make our movie as a comment on current wars, we made it because it’s part of – especially Germany’s – history.
‘Seeing this group here, all of us seem to be filmmakers that want to tell a story that really comes from inside of us, and I think most filmmakers do, and so that story really came from inside of me, in terms of dealing or talking about and sharing the responsibility that I think that Germany has towards history… and actually using the movie as a funnel to put all the shame and guilt into [it] and share that and say, listen, if we make a war movie there’s not going to be a hero and at the end everyone is going to die because there can’t be a surviving German soldier, you know? There can’t be someone.’
The director, who has helmed episodes of Deutschland 83 and Patrick Melrose with Benedict Cumberbatch, also spoke about the difference in how German citizens reflect on World War One compared to people from elsewhere.
Berger insisted he does not like being a ‘messenger’ with his movies but wanted to ‘share the responsibility’ he feels Germany has towards history (Picture: Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for Netflix)
‘From the British or American perspective – or from other countries – I totally get that there is some kind of sense of maybe honour and pride with that part of history,’ he continued.
‘There’s nothing like that in Germany, so you can’t have someone on a mission be successful with that mission – or [for example] someone kills someone else and [we] go, “Okay great, that enemy is dead; he’s one goal closer.”
‘But to answer the question, it’s not a comment. I find it very hard to be a messenger in essence. We’re filmmakers and that’s what we’re trying to be good at, and sharing a story that comes from inside of us,’ he continued.
The adaptation also adds a new story strand following Germany’s political negotiations to end the war, which features actor Daniel Brühl (Picture: Reiner Bajo/Netflix via AP)
All Quiet on the Western Front was first made into a film in 1930, just a year after the novel’s release, starring Lew Ayres(Picture: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)
‘Everybody else who watches the movie, the audience, ideally, they take their own interpretation. And if I had one – if I had a message – I probably would say, don’t listen to it because it’s got to be your own. So in essence, I just want to make a movie and talk about primarily what’s inside of me and then hopefully it resonates with others.’
All Quiet on the Western Front, based on the 1929 anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque, is set during the brutal final days of the conflict in 1918 and follows a young and initially idealistic German soldier, Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), as he enlists in the army with his friends.
It was previously made into an English-language film starring Lew Ayres in 1930, which was the first film to win Oscars for both best film and best director and is considered a harrowing classic.
Berger’s German version is the most nominated film at the Baftas this year, with 14 nominations in total, as well as nine nods at the Oscars – putting it second there only to the big haul of 11 for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
All Quiet on the Western Front is available to stream on Netflix now.
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