Argentina, 1985 lost as best international film: the prize went to All Quiet on the Front

And the dream of the third could not be. Argentina, 1985 was left out the door for the Best International Picture Oscar, which went to No news at the front (In the west, nothing is new)German war drama Edward Berger. The entourage led by the director Santiago Miter and the protagonists Ricardo Darin there Pierre Lanzani they applauded the winner with the bitterness of the affair but with the satisfaction of having fulfilled their duty: to have shed light on one of the darkest stories of our country.

The award was announced by Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, and certain indications of the Spanish actor had fed the illusions of the Argentine troupe. However, the prize went to the German production set during World War I, in a category they also participated in. HEYfrom Polish Jerzy Skolimowski, CloseBelgian Lucas Dhontand Irish film The quiet girl.

The Teutonic film had already won the BAFTAs last February, the most prestigious award ceremony in the United Kingdom. There it was established as best film of the year, the most important category, and also won six other awards for best foreign language film (it beat Argentina, 1985), Best Director (Edward Berger), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.

No news at the front tells the life of soldiers in the trenches during the First World War, a story based on the homonymous book written by Erich Maria Note, a German veteran of the Great War. The film can be seen on Netflix and takes as its starting point Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer) a 17-year-old soldier who, enveloped in naïve patriotism, enthusiastically decides to join the front lines of combat, forging his document to be underage.

But from this first moment of joy when Paul and his new companions are enthusiastic, when they are accepted to go to the front and put on their uniforms, he passes without anesthesia to the madness of war. So from one moment to another, they face death, hours of hunger and cold, armed clashes in which they lose friends and colleagues. A universe that does not distinguish between good and evil and places them in front of the worst experience of their life.

Hunger is another of the central protagonists of this story which reminds the viewer that without basic needs such as eating, accumulating hours of sleep and being warm, they can be crucial against an enemy. It is a story that also speaks of the value of life, beyond the fact that the dead follow one another.

Along with the harshness of the battlefield, the plot also focuses on the moments leading up to the German surrender and the peace treaty signed in this historic wagon. The hours to reach this agreement are decisive and the German and French high commands decide from their comfortable cabins the fate of the soldiers who find themselves in the worst living conditions.

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