The film tells the story of Germany in World War I. Under the incitement of the principal's "nationalism and heroism", seven classmates resolutely went to the battlefield from the army. Actor Paul once hoped to be the second Goethe or Schiller. However, artillery fire, hunger and the casualties of his classmates gradually made his romantic feelings disillusioned. He questioned the meaning of war as "every full-grown emperor needs one war to make him famous, the general too, they need war. And manufactures, they get rich." What
impressed me in the play was the beautiful pair that appeared as props boots. After Franz's death, Mueller donned his boots and marched to fight. The camera was shooting all the way to the boots, but the owner of the boots was changing, until the feet that were stepping on the boots fell to the sound of the cannon. Just using a pair of boots and editing several shots together, it shows the passing of fresh young lives one by one.
Undoubtedly, the most classic and most talked about by many film critics is the last shot of Paul standing up in the trenches to catch a butterfly and being shot by the enemy. The director used gunshots, butterflies on the ground and hanging hands to show the final fate of the protagonist Paul. At this point the film ends abruptly. Flashback again to the medium shot of 7 young men turning back to face the camera during the march.
This film is the third best picture Oscar, but it is much deeper in thought than the previous two. The changes before and after the protagonist Paul are clear and natural. Demonstrate an anti-war theme in a sad mood. In addition, Paul can't stand the people in the rear living under the hypocritical preaching and incitement of nationalism, and he would rather return to the simple life-and-death battlefield. Perhaps death is the destination for his integrity and honesty.
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