Passchendaele
Passchendaele is a village in Belgium that in WW1 became synonymous with the phrase cannon fodder. It was also one of the places that Canadian military bravery helped morph this vast country of only 6 million people at the time from colony status into a nation. Canadian actor Paul Gross known for wearing his maple leaf on his sleeve has been working long and hard to get this project on screen and literally did everything to bring it about by producing, writing and directing himself in the starring role. He plays Michael Dunne a shell shocked sergeant back home in Calgary dealing with post traumatic stress long after his physical wounds heal. Holding his hand is nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas) who we find out is probably Canada’s first junkie. We also find out that her father and Sgt Dunne fought together at Vimy Ridge but not in a good way. Most of the film shows the sergeant and the nurse getting cozy despite their baggage juxtaposed against the stunning tranquility of early 20th century foothills majesty. However when Sarah’s brother David (Joe Dinicol) is pressured to do his duty for God and King, Michael tags along even though the enemy isn’t the most dangerous thing he might face in the European mud. The hellish climactic battle on the deluged pockmarked fields of Passchendaele stand up against any desperate firefight ever filmed until an unbelievably corny Christ metaphor gets tossed in. Thanks to partial funding from Astral Media this is the most expensive Canadian film ever made and aside from one or two eye rolling moments the story works and stands up as a fitting tribute to a nobler time.