All Quiet On The Western Front: How to watch the film nominated for 14 Baftas, what's it about, and who is in it?

Instead of rewarding crowd-pleasers like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’, or Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’, Bafta voters have instead shortlisted relatively unknown German film ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ for best film.

It’s also up for another 13 awards – making it the first film to have 14 nods since The King’s Speech back in 2010.

Here’s everything you need to know about the film and - most importantly – how to watch it.

What’s ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ about?

The film is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Set in the final days of World War I, it tells the story of an idealistic and patriotic young German soldier called Paul Bäumer, who enlists in the army hoping to be a war hero – utterly convinced that his side are morally unimpeachable. When the realities and compexities of war hit home he strives to simply survive. The film also adds an extra plot strand not included in the book – following the armistice negotiations to end the war.

Who stars in ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’?

The most familiar face in the film for British film fans is Daniel Brühl, who plays politician Matthias Erzberger.

HIs previous films include Quentin Tarantino's ‘Inglourious Basterds’, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’, ‘The Fifth Estate’, ‘A Most Wanted Man’, ‘Rush’, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and Disney+ series ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’.

The lead role of Paul Bäumer is taken by Felix Kammerer, who is making his big screen debut.

Other actors in the film include Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus , Adrian Grünewald, Edin Hasanovic, Thibault de Montalembert, Devid Striesow, Andreas Döhler, Sebastian Hülk – none of whom are household names in the UK.

What Baftas has ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ been nominated for?

Along with the award for best ficture, ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ has been nominated for Baftas for best film not in the English language, best director, best adapted screenplay, best supporting actor, best original score, best casting, best cinematography, best editing, best production design, best costume design, best makeup & hair, best sound, and best special visual effects.

Can I see ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ in the cinema?

It’s highly unlikely that you will be able to see the film in a cinema, because it had a very limited release.

It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022, and officially received a UK cinematic release on October 14 the same year, making it eligible for the Baftas.

The film only played in a very small number of independent cinemas and for only a single week.

How can I watch ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’?

The reason the film had such a small cinema release is because Netflix have distribution rights and wanted it to have the biggest possible impact on its streaming service.

‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ has been available to watch on Netflix since October 28, 2022.

Netflix is available from £6.99 per month.

What other awards has ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ won?

The film was selected to be Germany's entry for the Oscar’s Best International Feature Film and has since made the shortlist. It has also won awards from the National Board of Review, European Film Awards and the San Diego Film Critics Society.

Has ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ been well reviewed?

The film has received near-unanimous acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes it has a 92 per cent rating with critics, only dropping to 90 per cent positive audience reviews.