Passchendaele

Paul Gross’ revisits one of Canada’s darkest wartime experiences in the Canadian-made film about the World War I battle at Passchendaele. Set primarily in the (then) small town of Calgary, Alberta, this film concentrates not only on the horrors of the battlefield, but sheds some light on the challenges faced by those who were left on the home front.

Gross stars as Michael Dunne, a veteran brought home and assigned to recruitment in Calgary after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. During his stay at the war hospital, Dunne is treated by nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas) whom he takes a shine to. Mann, whose asthmatic brother has no greater wish than to be recruited, is hiding some secrets of her own regarding her parents, who do not appear in the film, and her silent struggle against her past. The film progresses with the relationship between Dunne and Mann, and Dunne’s lack of enthusiasm for the recruitment effort. When Mann’s brother finds a back way into the war and is about to be sent to the front lines, Dunne must do all he can to look out for him, and decides to return overseas.

The beginning and the end of this film take place overseas as soldiers fight for life and love of country. These sequences are filled with challenging decisions and no small amount of blood, which holds true of any realistic battle sequence. There are scenes of point blank killing, as well as indirect fighting and shooting. The hospital scenes are graphic, and there is no belittling the agony that these soldiers are experiencing. Though the bloodiness of this film does not quite reach the ranks of “Saving Private Ryan” (if only due to its length) it does not shy away from a realistic amount of gruesomeness. The depiction of the conditions experienced by those present in this war causes the viewer to understand why trench warfare was seldom seen again.

Spirituality is not a major theme in “Passchendaele.” Religion is seldom mentioned, if at all. Viewers are left to make their own conclusions about the spiritual preferences of the characters, and the correlation between war and the will of God.

There is a small amount of nudity, involving a woman’s top half and a male’s bottom, and there is a moderate amount of drinking as well as several sex scenes, though they are short and not graphic. Profanity is present, though not excessive and likely very accurate of the situation, though this may still offend some viewers.

Though I have viewed many a war movie, I did walk away from this one with a heavy heart. Perhaps it was the fact that I went just after Canada’s Remembrance Day with the thoughts of those who fought for my country close to the surface. Perhaps it was the sheer volume of soldiers that lost their lives on both sides. Maybe it was the futile feeling of the soldiers up to their armpits in dirty water, knowing that they love their countries, but unprepared for the conditions that they lived under and the decisions they were forced to make minute by minute with nothing but a vague sense of patriotism to guide them.

Either way, “Passchendaele” is an achievement, not only in Canadian filmmaking, but in providing a window into the past, allowing the youth of our time a glimpse of understanding into the sacrifices of our forefathers, and honouring their memories in so doing. I would not recommend this movie to the faint of heart, or to anyone who is easily offended by violence, as there is plenty. However, if you can allow the realism to mitigate the gore, there is something to be learned from this film.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

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