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Nothing Changes on the Western Front (2022)

Initially, I thought I'd write something along the lines of: "the film is just a film; without any exaggerated indifference – despite the high ratings and awards, I didn't expect anything special from it, and I didn't get anything, but at least it's watchable in one sitting." However, after comparing it to all the war films I've seen, I realized that wouldn't be entirely fair. First, the very fact that it portrays World War I is a plus – if there are any good films about it, I probably haven't even heard of them; usually, all the attention of filmmakers is focused on the sequel. Second, it lacks the unpleasant trait of many typical war films – in an attempt to show ordinary characters and the relentless nature of war, filmmakers often add a huge number of characters who are not particularly different from each other to the plot, and throw them into the thick of battle scenes, where each of them, wearing a helmet and with a dirt-smeared face, shouts something in the midst of gunfire, and it's completely unclear what's happening. There is no such problem here, as the focus of the narrative is on the main character, and there are few fights (which is also a plus), and those that are present are shown in a structured and meaningful way. Perhaps this was not so much a deliberate choice as a limitation of the creators, due to the monotonous nature of World War I, but even if that's the case, it worked to their advantage, preventing them from spreading the events in all possible directions. Moreover, this also benefits the visuals. Third, there is no glorification of the events, but I'm not entirely sure about this point. What I mean is the absence of particularly pompous scenes in slow motion with epic music of overcoming, or dramatic scenes with sad violin music, but this may be due to the fact that the narrative is told from the perspective of the Germans, and this would be taboo, or that most people are not particularly moved by this war, unlike World War II. At the same time, there is no excessive negativity either. I expected a certain amount of brutal and meaningless deaths, dismemberment, and other Hollywood shock tactics, but overall, what is happening is shown in moderation. The factor of dislike here should be the awareness of the meaninglessness of the events, and given the well-known attitude towards World War I, I also expected a strong focus on this, but strangely enough, it didn't seem to me that this was artificially exaggerated – based on my own level of empathy and understanding, the viewer is invited to independently draw conclusions about whether to be bored or horrified, or something in between. In the rest, there is not much to add – I will conclude by saying that, in my opinion, all the elements of the film, such as the characters, events, fights, and everyday life, micro- and macro-moments, are shown very balanced and harmoniously, which is really rare for a war film. If you like this setting as much as I do, then it's quite watchable, just don't be fooled by the hype and awards – you won't get a mind-blowing experience or a rollercoaster of emotions, but a very solid film.