The film adaptation of the literary classic by Erich Maria Remarque depicts the atrocities of the First World War from the perspective of a young soldier. The film will be shown for the first time at the Toronto Film Festival.
Toronto – The German war drama “Nothing New in the West” celebrated its world premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Director Edward Berger thanked the Toronto audience, who gave the two-and-a-half-hour epic at the Royal Alexandra Theater a big round of applause.
“We are very honored to be able to present our film, which was made in the middle of the Covid lockdown, here,” said Berger. Co-producer Lesley Paterson, who also wrote the screenplay, added, “It was challenging to shoot the film on the scale Edward and I envisioned. We had a big crew, we built the whole huge battlefield. Now to be able to show him on screen is exciting.”
The film adaptation of the literary classic by Erich Maria Remarque, which will be in the running for the Oscar in 2023 as the German entry, describes the atrocities of the First World War from the perspective of the young soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer). The teenager volunteers for military service and pretends to be older than he is, but then he and his friends Albrecht (Aaron Hilmer) and Frantz (Moritz Klaus) quickly catch up with the cruel reality on the western front.
Other roles include Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl and Devid Striesow. The film opens in cinemas on September 29th, and the Netflix production can be seen on the streaming service from October 28th. dpa
