All Quiet on the Western Front

In 1917 Germany, soldiers run through trenches amid a field of dead bodies, getting ready for the next attack of World War I. Heinrich Gerber is among the soldiers, trying to hide in panic before charging head-on into combat. The scene sets the intense, deadly environment of the battlefield, highlighting the chaos and brutality of war.

Paul Baumer and his friends, including Albert and Franz, enlist with patriotic enthusiasm after listening to their principal's inspiring speech. Paul receives Heinrich’s old uniform, symbolizing the transfer of war gear between generations of soldiers. Their departure marks the beginning of their brutal journey in the war.

The soldiers arrive in Paris, where many are already injured, and precautions are taken against a gas attack, prompting them to wear masks. They reach the trenches, meet fellow soldiers like Kat and Tjaden, and settle in for their first night in the trenches amidst the ongoing shellfire and danger.

French forces launch a gas attack forcing the Germans into bunkers. The attack intensifies, causing the bunker to collapse and trapping some soldiers under rubble. Paul helps recover the dead, and mourns Ludwig’s mutilated body, confronting the harsh reality of war’s brutality.

Eighteen months later, German officials, including Erzberger, meet with the Supreme Army Command to negotiate an armistice with the Allied powers. They discuss recent troop losses and strategize about ending the war, signaling a potential resolution after years of conflict.

Paul and Kat steal a goose from a farm in France, sharing it with friends and singing together, capturing a moment of camaraderie amidst war. Franz secretly spends time with a French woman, providing a brief glimpse of human connection in the midst of chaos.

Paul reads a letter from Kat’s wife, learning that Kat has lost a son and feeling the emotional toll of war on soldiers’ families. Kat confesses he doubts he can readjust to civilian life, highlighting the long-lasting psychological scars of war.

While searching for missing recruits, Paul and Albert see that some soldiers died due to gas mask removal. Kat, illiterate, is unable to read his wife’s letter, underscoring the soldiers’ helplessness. Kat later is fatally shot while trying to escape a farm.

After the Kaiser’s abdication, Erzberger is ordered to accept the Allied conditions. Soldiers, including Paul, learn of the impending ceasefire, and some celebrate the end of the war while others mourn fallen friends. Tjaden’s tragic suicide underscores ongoing despair.

German soldiers are ordered to attack as the war nears its end. Paul fights fiercely and kills French soldiers, but he is eventually impaled by a bayonet in a trench. As the war ends at 11:00, Paul succumbs, symbolizing the devastating cost of conflict.

The surviving recruits collect their fallen comrades’ tags, including a scarf belonging to Franz, as a somber act of remembrance. Paul’s body is retrieved, emphasizing the personal loss experienced by soldiers long after the war’s end.