PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Daniel Brühl, actor of the film Im Westen nichts Neues / All Quiet on the Western Front.
How can cinema help us understand the absurdity of war? “We have to be persistent” answers Daniel Brühl among the protagonists of All Quiet on the Western front at the 18th Zurich Film Festival in the Gala Premieres’ section. The film is the first German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s pacifist world bestseller and Brühl’s character, a real liberal politician, Matthias Erzberger has been added into the story,even though Remarque never wrote about him, as to anticipate what would have happened next, World War II.
Im Westen nichts Neues / All Quiet on the Western Front: Germany, World War I. A romanticised idea of heroism motivates the student Paul Bäumer to volunteer for the army at the age of 19. Full of patriotic zeal, he completes basic training before going to the Western Front with his comrades. In the trenches, however, it’s not long before Paul’s worldview is shattered and he is forced to experience first-hand how initial euphoria turns into fear and despair. With Im Westen nichts Neues, Edward Berger directs the first German film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s pacifist world bestseller. With a great ensemble cast including Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch and Devid Striesow, the result is a gripping drama that impressively demonstrates the absurdity and brutality of war.
For the first time in its history, the Cannes Film Festival reveals two official posters for its 78th edition, inspired by Claude Lelouch’s 1966 Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece A Man and a Woman.
Alice Rohrwacher has been appointed President of the Caméra d’or Jury at Cannes 2025. Known for her poetic and visionary cinema, Rohrwacher will award the best first feature at the festival’s closing ceremony on May 24.