SnoopyStyle Sergeant Michael Dunne (Paul Gross) survives a brutal vicious assault and finds himself in a Calgary hospital being treated by nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas). She and her brother David (Joe Dinicol) face problems arising from their German father who died for the German army. David's asthma keeps him out of the war which is looked down upon by his girlfriend Cassie Walker's father. Michael is facing desertion charges and possible execution back at the front despite winning a medal from the fight. The three of them eventually find themselves back in the war.There are compelling bits of scenes here and there. It's kinda daring to have the protagonist bayonet a helpless German boy in the forehead. The shaming of the men who haven't enlisted is interesting. The story back home is way too messy encompassing too many elements. It's trying to do too much. Paul Gross is not gritty enough for this role. The first half becomes a sincere melodrama. The second half is more or less a big muddy WWI trench war movie. The production is not as high as Hollywood. The sincerity does keep it from being truly bad.

juneebuggy Paul Gross wrote, directed and stars in this ambitious (yet still very CBC feeling) epic, following the exploits of the Canadian soldiers who fought in one of the key battles of World War 1 in 1917. The story follows Gross as a troubled veteran, his nurse girlfriend and a naïve boy who intersect first in Alberta and then through the bloody battle of Passchendaele.You can just tell that Paul Gross put his heart and soul into this and I really, really wanted to be impressed, finally getting the Canadian side of events after so many WW1 movies that just deal with the American or British. Unfortunately though its not great.Yeah it has its moments, it's visually impressive, the battle scenes are very well done, the trench warfare, the mud, the rain, the carnage and I got very caught up in the ending despite myself but this is also melodramatic at times, kinda choppy and (as I said) has a made for TV feel despite the big budget. Guys will be disappointed too because for the most part this is a love story.Still I am haunted by the ending, that final shot of the wooden cross in Calgary with the Bow river in the background infused with the white stone graves in France, beautiful. 11/16/14

mark-sheriff Having just watched this with my son, we both headed off to IMDb... myself predicting that we would see reviews from both ends of the spectrum... and that's what we found.As a result, this review provides guidance for:Canadian families. Global families. Those interested in WW1 drama, and or historical dramatisation.******This is a film created primarily with the Canadian family in mind... probably one that has girls and a mum, as well as boys and a dad.So, if you're in that category, and looking for a film that will remind the kids that Canadians fought in WW1, and that Canadians did well...... then this film will do that, whilst providing a glimpse of love, separation, racial hatred, and war mongering.Actually, vis a vis 'love' it's a bit more than a glimpse, but hey; see paragraph 2.The youngsters will get to see a truly first class battlefield 'set', and hence the deserved (overall) 2 stars as a WW1 movie. If we were judging battlefield 'sets' it would probably have been 9 or even 10 stars.There is one genuine sex scene, but actually the scene itself was probably one of the more accurate historical moments... clearly, 'let's do it now because...' (and it's over pretty quick)If you're of an embarrassed disposition with the kids, you can easily break the ice by saying "that's how it was, before people went off to fight".It has sufficient gore, close proximity death, and a horrifying image of living and fighting 'sodden' day in and day out (you can explain how the flesh would just rot) - all correct for current consumption.RE: As a global family film...I would give this a respectable 6 stars, if only to perhaps introduce WW1 to a younger audience of boys and girls.The problem is that it is not a good intelligent film. To say it is cliché ridden, would be an understatement.On this... search for the review here, by reynoldh, as I don't wish to repeat his work.If you wish to see a high quality WW1 family film, 'do not pass go', 'do not collect £200', but go directly to Gallipoli by Peter Wier.If you are looking for a film that pertains to Passchendaele, and or want to see intelligent drama, and or dramatised history...... I can honestly say that 'this is NOT a film for you'. I would instead search on IMDb for 'List of World War I films' by ferreiracarlos1504Consider also Breaker Morant by Bruce Beresford (Boer war)Truthfully... somebody should have stepped in and told the company "you just cannot use the name Passchendaele as the film title. It was wrong of them, and it verges on 'the disgusting', if you have any empathy towards those families that might wish to see that full story told.However... if the film sparks an interest in our recent history... by watching it with your family; you might even be able to get a trip to France and Belgium out of it.It would definitely be worth it, just for that :)

cyberdew41 At 20 million dollars, PASSCHENDAELE was the most expensive Canadian movie ever produced. And I think it's fair to say that every dollar of that budget shows on the screen. From the ultra-realistic battle scenes at Ypres and Passchendaele, to the portrayal of Calgary as a small prairie town at the turn of the 20th century, it is faithful to the visuals of what it must have been like to live at that time. PASSCHENDAELE is a throwback to the kind of war movies made by John Wayne, albeit with a hero in the throes of neurasthenia (PTSD) for having needlessly killed a young German soldier in a particularly cruel fashion. It wavers between glorifying the soldiers who fight in war, while criticizing war itself, especially the old men who stay safe at the home front and shame young men into joining the army.This movie is amazing in that it is a war epic quite literally made by one man, Paul Gross. Gross, wrote, solicited funding, produced, directed, starred, and even wrote the song "After the War" for this movie. I'm a fan of war movies, and it was this fact that led me to first watch PASSCHENDAELE. I must say, that for a one-man war film, it is astounding. I really enjoyed it. Other reviewers have commented on anachronisms in the speech of the characters. Actually, the slang is current to the WWI period, even though it may sound surprisingly modern to our ears. For example, at one point Sgt. Dunne says the line, "I can lose the uniform." In context this means, "I don't need to wear my uniform to the dance." At first this sounded anachronistic to me. Then I did some research. There are parts of America and Canada that were heavily influenced by non standard English... and I'm happy to say "I can lose the..." would have been around during the WWI era. (It was around in twelfth century Scot's Gaelic, in fact, which is presumably how it entered the English language.) Another criticism is that of the "plastic love story". I found it as believable as that between Rose and Jack in TITANIC, and more so. The love story is between the character played by Paul Gross, Sgt. Michael Dunne, and his nurse, Sarah Mann, played by the wonderful Caroline Dhavernas. The cast is rounded out by wonderful Canadian character actors, many of whom will be recognizable to fans of The Murdoch Mysteries, due SOUTH, Slings & Arrows, and others.Michael and Sarah have a strangely unrequited love; hers being dependent on him keeping her brother safe in the war. I wanted the characters to have more of a love story while the movie spent time on the home front in Canada. In my opinion, it would have strengthened the power of the ending.Yet, this is a very powerful piece. I would caution families against showing it to young children, as the battle violence is quite realistic. Sexual scenes are relatively tame and brief, for this day and age, and more is left to the viewers' imagination than to the screen. (refer to the Parents'Guide for specifics.) Quite wisely too, I think, PASSCHENDAELE was given an "R" rating -- I believe because of the war violence. I think it would be OK to show to teens with parental guidance, especially if they are studying WWI in school. Like its spiritual predecessor, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, the violence is not gratuitous: it shows the utter brutality and sheer waste that war can be. Nevertheless, the visuals are brutal and disturbing. Something that parents would want to talk to their kids about.PASSCHENDAELE highlights the tremendous contribution Canada made to WWI. The sheer numbers of men killed were staggering. It glorifies the bravery of the individual soldier and of the platoons, while showing the futility of the war. It has a place in the war movie collection of any fan of the genre.