All Was Quiet

I forgot about this blog thing for a while. So I'll try to knock off some cometary on the movies we saw. First, All's Quiet on the Western Front.

This film portrayed, very well, the horrors of war. In a few short years, these young boys became either dead or old men - a life time of experiences and horrors crammed into this time.

When it is said that war will make you truly value life, I don't quite believe that. Like, "you won't appreciate your life until you are almost kill and your head is all messed up and all of your friends are dead." War seems, according to this film, to take away most of your life with out even killing you. The dehumanized make for good soldiers, but terrible people. I wouldn't know first hand, but to me, being through a war I don't think that it would help anyone to enjoy living more. War ruins lives, even those it does not physically take. Paul Baumer had a life before the war. He goes back and that is foreign to him. The war took his life (even though he didn't die for another 15 minutes).


My favorite scene is when they are all sitting on the ground eating. The men are all pondering the nature of the war, who started it, and their place in the whole mess. They say how they don't want to shoot at an Englishmen or a Frenchman, and visaversa. Their "enemy" is just a friend they haven't met (as corny as that sounds, its true). My favorite line in the whole movie is when Kat says something to the affect of 'why don't we take all the kings, generals, dignitaries, strip them into their underpants and let them duke it out with clubs... better country win.' A nice thought, but they are stuck doing their Keizers work out in the trenchs. Damn 'French warfare.' And right as they are feeling how futile this (any) war is, they are called back to the front - great way to end the scene.

And on a note about "French or Trench Warfare," I think that the old men back home may have in fact called it Frence warfare. If I hated the French and was at war with them, and my country was bogged down in stupid trench warfare, I would blame the French. I would already blame the French for the war, my sunburn, my knocked up daughter, and all my problems past and future, I can't see how this would be any different. And, plentry of things carry the French name (ie french fries, french toast, french manicure, etc) so why can't the type of warfare. All I am saying is that if i was a German during WWI, I would call trench warfare "French Warfare." You'd need a laugh in the trenches after all. Damn French.

Good night