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Dr. Ervin Malakaj, Assistant Professor of German Studies, collaborated with Molly Harrabin (University of Warwick) to co-host, “Watching War: A Symposium on Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front.”
The event was held May 11, 2023, and featured eighteen presentations assessing various dimensions of a contested film. Edward Berger’s 2022 film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s Im Westen Nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front) has been described as ‘the finest First World War film to date’ (Wyatt, 2022) and as ‘one of the worst films of all time’ (zu Dohna, 2023). An extensive public enthusiasm for the film and the various accolades it has received e.g. the BAFTA for Best Film and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film), which marked yet another return of German cinema on the international stage, faced a critical reception that also outlined the film’s flaws. While some pundits praised the film’s aesthetics, others decried its gratuitous sensationalisation of wartime experience and dabbling in tropes problematic at best – and dangerous at worst.
For more information about the symposium, visit the official program site.
