Directors: Paul Gross (Men With Brooms)
Screenplay: Paul Gross
Producer: Niv Fichman
Starring: Alex Arsenault, Meredith Bailey, Gil Bellows, Don Bland, David Brown, Tom Carey, Jason Cermak, Ryan Cowie, Ross Crockett
MPAA Rating: 14A
Running time: 114 min.

(3.5/5)

The first time I really took notice of Paul Gross was with the release of the curling comedy Men with Brooms. Through the film itself isn’t particularly memorable or stand out, the fact that Gross had starred, directed and managed to get funding to make an unlikely Canadian comedy tickled me pink. Since then, Gross has re-emerged in front of the camera on numerous occasions but this marks his return behind the camera.

In 2008, after years of hard work and a budget which marks the film as the most expensive Canadian production ever, Passchendaele premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Partly inspired by his grandfather’s war experience, it’s the story of one’s man’s war, a story which is as concerned with personal drama as it is with fighting.

Gross stars as Michael Dunne, a decorated soldier who has been returned to Canada due to an injury. He’s plagued by the war and haunted by the event which garnered him his medal; an act which has shaken him to his core. With the option of either remaining in the army as a recruitment officer or being sent back to the front and tried for going AWOL, Dunne ends up in his home town of Calgary, recruiting lads for the 10th Battalion. While there he falls in love with a troubled nurse, a romance that lands him back in the trenches and eventually at the Battle of Passchendaele.

Though Passchendaele starts off in a war scenario, the film quickly returns to Canada and morphs into a romance which, along its path, manages to showcase the “war at home.” Though nothing of Goss’ film is new to anyone who has taken a history class (or heck, done some reading), Gross does manage to integrate life on the home front with life in the battle field in an entertaining enough manner. The film is at its best in the final 30 minutes when the action returns to the front and particularly the last 15 minutes which take place in the trenches of the battle. Everything from the set design to the action is expertly captured and the final fight sequence is so realistic, it’s easy to forget this isn’t a documentary. Seeing archival footage and images of the battlefront after seeing the film reiterate Gross and production designer Carol Spier’s achievement.

The film’s major drawback is the acting which is predominantly bland. Caroline Dhavernas is a pretty face but her portrayal of the nurse at the centre of the romance is forgettable and Joe Dinicol who is the reason for Dunne’s return to the front is laughable. Gross alone manages a good performance and though he often looks as though he’s about to break out in laughter, it suits his character who comes across as happy-go-lucky, and the kind of guy who lives by the motto “whatever happens happens.”

Passchendaele isn’t perfect but it has quite a bit going for it, particularly the Passchendaele sequence which is as visceral as anything Steven Spielberg put on screen.

Passchendaele is available on DVD on Tuesday, November 3rd. The release includes some fantastic extras, particularly a second disc full of NFB documentaries documenting the First World War all of which are worth a look for both their informational value and their fantastic war footage.