Nobody is younger than the western front ★★★½
WAR DRAMA (2022)
Directed by: Edward Berger
InterpretationsPeople: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Such

The classic novel by Erich Maria Remarque is getting a new adaptation by Eduard Berger (Germany 83) and Netflix. The online platform invests in rich production that manages to transport us into the blood-drenched trenches of World War I, the most brutal and arguably deadliest war of all time. The protagonists here are a small group of young German soldiers who, after a short training, are sent straight to northern France and to the western front. There they will experience first hand the horrors of war and learn more about the limitations – physical and spiritual – of human nature.

With often shocking imagery and exemplary atmosphere, Berger manages to capture the trench conflict in all its chilling glory. From large-scale battles to the sketchy “business” of stealing a fodder goose, everything here exudes authenticity, without embellishment and stylization.

And the absurdity of war, so tragically relevant today, is the real theme of the film, especially depicted in its last part.

Peach Trees of Alcaras ★★★½
DRAMA (2021)
Directed by: Carla Simon
InterpretationsCast: Jordi Puyol Dolcet, Anna Otin

On the Cinobo platform, we choose the film that won the last Golden Bear in Berlin. In Alcaraz, a small village in Catalonia, a peach growing family is harvesting. However, at the same time, the entire region, and with it the owner of the land they cultivate, has fallen into a solar panel fever and is preparing to sell their fields.

Carla Simon picks up where she left off with her debut full of sunshine and childlike innocence (“1993”), but this time she’s putting a lot more problems on the table. The end of an era, when farmers are forced to change their centuries-old way of life, is here an emotional focus, while the film does not at all turn into a melodrama. On the contrary, again a lively childish look creates a bittersweet, but very pleasing to the eye whole. Little things rule here: a carefree children’s game, a delicious family meal, a local holiday; life itself, with its accidents and failures, continues to yearn for tomorrow. The film comes out August 11th.