Universalizing Dark Heritage: Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

In this study, I analyze Edward Berger’s 2022 film All Quiet on the Western Front as a “heritage film.” Scholars use this analytical lens to uncover the ways in which national cinemas portray history and thus partake in the construction of a national heritage. I argue that All Quiet on the Western Front is a special case of the heritage film, for two reasons. First, the film constructs heritage by depicting a history of trauma, thus creating what scholars have termed “dark heritage.” Second, the film does not construct a strictly national heritage; instead, it de-emphasizes the national perspective and universalizes the heritage of WWI. The film depicts the events of the Western Front as a traumatic part of history that concerns all of humanity, thus constructing a universal human heritage. In my study, I first define the terms “heritage,” “dark heritage,” and “heritage film.” Then, I analyze key scenes to show how All Quiet on the Front uses narrative and audiovisual tools to universalize the heritage of WWI.