The German anti-war film is a superb reminder – uniquely among this year’s contenders – of awful events taking place in Ukraine
- All Quiet on the Western Front sweeps Baftas as Banshees also gets an Oscar boost
- Baftas 2023: the winners and ceremony – as it happened
- The complete list of winners
If awards ceremonies tap into currents, trends and the hive-mind unconscious, then this year’s Baftas have given us something to think about. All Quiet on the Western Front is the first German-language movie version of that anti-war classic about the horror and futility of war which hasn’t been at the centre of the cultural conversation for many years. Tonight it ruled the Baftas, with seven wins including best film and best director for Edward Berger.
This is the accomplished and well-acted Netflix movie which, though it was highly regarded in the Anglo-Hollywood world, was derided in the German press as middlebrow blockbuster kitsch.
