Now that the German-language adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s famous 1928 antiwar novel All Quiet on the Western Front has won best picture at the British equivalent of the Oscars, the staff here thought it worth noting that Remarque lived for the last 20 years of his life neither in Germany nor the UK but on Manhattan’s East Side. So sayeth the memorial plaque at the lobby entrance to an inconspicuous midtown high-rise. Residents entering or leaving the building were, when asked, unaware of the picture’s acclaim.
Postscript: Feb. 27 —This critic begs to differ about the acclaim. I’m not crazy about the film either for other reasons than his.
