It won 4 Oscars and is on Netflix: the war film that was one of the most watched on the platform and is a must-see.

War has always been a successful terrain for cinema. Netflix has dozens of titles that address this theme from every possible angle: epic battles, true stories, post-war trauma, and the most intimate side of those struggling to survive amidst the chaos. From American blockbusters to lesser-known European gems, the platform's catalog continues to grow and surprise fans of the genre.

But among all this offering, there's one film that not only stood out for its rawness and realism, but also won over international critics, taking home four Oscars and becoming one of Netflix's most-watched films at the time it arrived on the platform. For 17 consecutive weeks, it remained in the top 10 most-watched films on Netflix globally, an unusual achievement for a non-English-language production. And it's none other than All Quiet on the Western Front , a German work that revisits one of the bloodiest conflicts in history: World War I.

Unlike other war films that glorify heroism or focus the action on the Allied side, this German production chooses to immerse viewers in the skin of the German soldiers, showing their physical and emotional decline as the war progresses. Everything is told from the perspective of Paul Bäumer, a young man full of dreams who joins the army with his friends, believing he will serve his country, little imagining that his greatest enemy will be the dehumanization he will encounter in the trenches.

Directed by Edward Berger and based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque —a veteran of the conflict—this version is the first German adaptation of a book written by a German author. The story avoids unnecessary subplots and focuses entirely on what happens on the front lines, with no escape routes.

The film won the Oscar for Best Cinematography thanks to the work of James Friend, who captures the mud, blood, and despair with a raw yet poetic aesthetic. The art direction and production design, also Academy Award-winning, accurately recreate the landscapes devastated by the conflict. All this is accompanied by a haunting soundtrack by Volker Bertelmann.

It's no coincidence that it also swept the British BAFTAs, where it took home seven awards, including Best Film and Best Director. But the most striking aspect of All Quiet on the Western Front is its ability to show how patriotic fervor can become a dead end. The story, although set in 1917, resonates strongly today, when armed conflicts continue to inflict the same wounds.

For those who haven't seen it yet , it's time to find it on Netflix, sit back, and let this masterpiece of contemporary cinema bring you face to face with the brutality of war.