MovieChat Forums > All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) Discussion > Standing up in the trenches wasn't stupi...

Standing up in the trenches wasn't stupidspoilers

posted 16 years ago by chipandluna
4 replies | jump to latest

When Paul stood up in the trenches to draw the bird, he wasn't being stupid. He was caught in the middle of his homes: one where he came from, which he feels further and further from the longer the war progresses, and the one he's in now, in which the war is his new home, but each day he looses more and more of the ones he loves. In a moment of poor judgement and desperation for peace, he stood up to draw the bird. It was his way of escaping both of his worlds for just one moment, which he needed, but unfortunately lead to his death.

~::~::~
The midget I'm dating could be my daughter! ~Denny Crane

[–] skooliskool 15 years ago

The irony of it was that Paul had made such a big deal of telling other troops to stay alert (in the trenches), yet he was distracted by this symbol of beauty for him, which seems to be connected to how he was distracted during class. In both instances he was drawing a bird.

[–] bhilburn 10 years ago

Sounds stupid to me.

"check the imdb cast list before asking who portrayed who in movies please"

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mebeyer1 8 years ago

This is a great movie, except at the end when he sees a bird, steps up out of the trench, gets out his sketch pad, starts sketching the flower, and gets shot. It's supposed to be an impulsive spontaneous moment, and pulling out a sketch pad and pencil involves too much thinking for the scene to be impulsive. The 1930 film did a much better job on this scene by having the character see the flower, impulsively reach for it, and then get shot.

Standing up in the trenches wasn't stupid*spoilers*

Standing up in the trenches wasn't stupidspoilers