.gif)
Passchendaele (film)
Encyclopedia
Passchendaele is a 2008
Canadian war film
from Alliance Films
, written, co-produced, directed by, and starring Paul Gross
. The film, which was shot in Calgary
, Alberta
, Fort Macleod, Alberta
, and in Belgium
, focuses on the experiences of a Canadian soldier, Michael Dunne, at the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. The film opened at the Toronto International Film Festival
on September 4, 2008, and was released in Canada on October 17, 2008.
in Calgary, Alberta. The film was shot over a period of forty-five days and involved over 200 actors, some of them Canadian Forces
soldiers with combat experience in Afghanistan
. Battle scenes were filmed on the Tsuu T'ina
Indian reserve
just outside Calgary, and principal photography finished in October 2007. The film was edited by David Wharnsby
, and its score composed by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek.
, in the First World War. Like many veterans, he was reticent about sharing his experiences with his family. In a rare conversation on a fishing trip; Dunne told the story of bayonet
ting a young German soldier, who had eyes like water, through the head and killing him during a battle. A long time later, as Dunne lay in a hospital bed in the last days of his life, his family was mystified by Dunne's behaviour, asking forgiveness over and over. Only Gross knew that he was speaking to the young German he had killed.
During the early portion of the film, the scene is re-envisualised in a broken church, when Sergeant Michael Dunne bayonets a young German soldier through the forehead.
, a decorated veteran of the 10th Battalion, CEF
.
During heavy combat in a ruined town, Dunne is wounded and sent home from Europe as a neurasthenia
patient. While recovering from his injuries, he meets nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas
) in Calgary
, Alberta
, where he had originally enlisted.
Sarah Mann is drummed out of the local nursing service, and ostracised in town, because her father was of German descent and had left Canada to rejoin the Imperial German Army in 1915. He was killed at Vimy Ridge on the opposing side to Sgt. Dunne. She has become addicted to morphine
as a means of dealing with the recurring loss in her life. Dunne, of Irish, Scottish, and English descent, does not like the idea.
David Mann (Joe Dinicol
) is Sarah's younger brother. Despite being ineligible for military service due to asthma
, he is desperate to win the respect of his girlfriend's father at a time when military service is demanded of all young men. Ironically given his own German descent, he is accepted, being Canadian-born (unlike his older sister). He is vehemently anti-German and tries to expunge the fact that his father was German, and had died fighting for Germany, from the family history. His girlfriend's father pulls strings to get him enlisted, arguably in the hope that he will not return and marry his daughter. Sarah originally thinks Michael has enlisted David, in his role as local recruitment officer, but later finds this is untrue. The enlistment is further facilitated by a British recruiting officer whose malice and goading of David Mann and Michael Dunne makes him the film's principal antagonist
. Michael however feels a responsibility and re-enlists as Pvt. MacCrae in order to protect David at the front.
As a result, both David and Michael meet up in the trenches in France. Sarah also enlists and follows the 10th ending up as a nurse in triage
at an Advanced Dressing Station near the front. The three arrive in Flanders
in time for the Battle of Passchendaele. Dunne and Sarah soon meet up again when Dunne brings a wounded man to the aid station. Although Dunne's cover as MacCrae is soon found out, by the inquisitive British Major (who has escaped his recruiting duties and also followed the 10th to France), he manages to escape punishment and is promoted to platoon leader by the Colonel who knew him from earlier fighting, when his past heroism "Should have earned him the V.C." and because of the need for experienced soldiers as high casualties were expected.
When the Canadians launch their attack, the 8th Battalion, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, known as the Little Black Devils, faces a German counterattack and becomes pinned down. Dunne's company is sent to support them. After the support company arrives, the 8th Battalion retreats from the battlefield, wrongly believing that they are finally relieved, leaving the job of holding the ground to Dunne's small force. As the reality of the war begins to set in, David Mann begins to realize the war was not what he believed it would be. Dunne's forces spend the night in their trenches, and as a result of the shelling, David begins to have an asthmatic/panic attack and Dunne calms him down, relieving the problem.
The next morning the Germans counter-attack, and make it as far as the line, and both forces attack each other in a horrifying slaughter, culminating in a brutal hand-to-hand combat involving bayonets, knives and makeshift weapons. A German soldier attacks Dunne and nearly stabs him, and David is forced to shoot the German (and hesitates). The viewer sees that the reality of actually killing another human being has finally been realized by David. As the Germans retreat, David breaks down and chases them back to surrender. He jumps into their trenches and is met by a gun to the face where he begs, telling them he is German. He is about to be shot when an artillery shell lands and the explosion throws him onto what is effectively a cross, created by walkway timbers from the trench. He is visually crucified by the explosion. This relates to Dunne's earlier story of the legendary, but false, report of the crucified soldier. When Dunne sees this he takes his helmet off, throws his gun down and runs to David, in a reckless attempt to keep his promise to keep him alive, getting shot in the process. He crawls to the cross on his knees, looking up at it. Both sides cease shooting, realizing that Dunne is harmless and only wants to retrieve David. Dunne carries the cross with David upon it across the calm battlefield, as the skies clear, once again mirroring Jesus
bearing his cross. Dunne slowly makes it across the battlefield to his men. The fighting swiftly resumes with a shell landing, and the viewers are brought back to the reality of the war. David lives, but Dunne is carried to the hospital where he dies after his last words with Sarah. This happens just as the news comes in that the Canadians have managed to take Passchendaele Ridge.
The ending scene shows the wheelchair
-bound David Mann (now only with one leg); Sarah Mann; David's girlfriend Cassie; and Dunne's best friend Royster (Gil Bellows
) paying tribute at Dunne's grave on his home farm (which had been made earlier in 1915 when he had enlisted and was sure that he would not return from the war). The marker has been altered to remove the "5" of 1915 and changed to 1917. The camera then pans out and the background alters to a field of hundreds of Canadian war graves with a riderless horse on the horizon (an image linking itself to a tale Michael told earlier and another very powerful symbol throughout the movie).
The 10th Battalion was originally formed from Albertans, Saskatchewanians and Manitobans, though as the war progressed it became identified solely as an Alberta battalion. The "Fighting Tenth" served with the 1st Canadian Division
and participated in all major Canadian battles of the war, and set the record for highest number of individual bravery awards for a single battle. At Hill 70, sixty men were awarded the Military Medal
for the fighting there, in addition to a Victoria Cross
, three Distinguished Service Order
s, seven Military Cross
es, and nine Distinguished Conduct Medal
s.
Lieutenant Colonel Ormond, the Commanding Officer of the 10th (also a character in the film) gave a handwritten account of the relief in which he said:
reported that critics gave the film an average of 4.9 out of 10, based on 13 reviews. IMDb users gave the film an average of 6.8 out of 10, based on 3,370 votes as of October 26, 2010.
. As of January 22, 2009, the film had grossed $4.45 million, accounting for half of 2008's box office revenue from made-in-Canada anglophone films.
At the 29th Genie Awards
, the film won the Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound, Achievement in Sound Editing, and Best Picture. It also received the Golden Reel Award
for Canada's top-grossing film of 2008.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
Canadian war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
from Alliance Films
Alliance Films
Alliance Films is a major Canadian motion picture distribution/production company, which serves Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain.-History:It was formed in 1984 by Stephen Roth, Denis Heroux, John Kemeny, Robert Lantos and Jay...
, written, co-produced, directed by, and starring Paul Gross
Paul Gross
Paul Michael Gross is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the television series Due South as well as his 2008 war film Passchendaele, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in...
. The film, which was shot in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Fort Macleod, Alberta
Fort Macleod, Alberta
Fort Macleod is a town in the southwest corner of the province of Alberta, Canada. It was founded as a North-West Mounted Police barracks, and is named in honour of the North-West Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod. The town's current mayor is Shawn Patience.- History and heritage preservation...
, and in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, focuses on the experiences of a Canadian soldier, Michael Dunne, at the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. The film opened at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
on September 4, 2008, and was released in Canada on October 17, 2008.
Production
Production on the film reportedly began on August 20, 2007, with principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
in Calgary, Alberta. The film was shot over a period of forty-five days and involved over 200 actors, some of them Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
soldiers with combat experience in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Battle scenes were filmed on the Tsuu T'ina
Tsuu T'ina Nation
The Tsuu T'ina Nation is a First Nation in Canada. Their territory is located on the Indian reserve Tsuu T'ina Nation 145, whose east side is adjacent to the southwest city limits of Calgary, Alberta...
Indian reserve
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
just outside Calgary, and principal photography finished in October 2007. The film was edited by David Wharnsby
David Wharnsby
David Wharnsby is a Genie and Gemini award winning Canadian film editor who lives in Toronto.Some of Wharnsby's numerous credits include; the CBC's miniseries Northern Town, directed by Gary Burns; At The Hotel, directed by Ken Finkleman; TIFF top ten films, I, Claudia, by Chris Abraham; The...
, and its score composed by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek.
Inspiration
This film was inspired by Gross's relationship with his maternal grandfather, Michael Joseph Dunne, who served in the 56th, 5th, 14th and 23rd Reserve Battalions, CEFCanadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
, in the First World War. Like many veterans, he was reticent about sharing his experiences with his family. In a rare conversation on a fishing trip; Dunne told the story of bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
ting a young German soldier, who had eyes like water, through the head and killing him during a battle. A long time later, as Dunne lay in a hospital bed in the last days of his life, his family was mystified by Dunne's behaviour, asking forgiveness over and over. Only Gross knew that he was speaking to the young German he had killed.
"He went completely out of his mind at the end. He started telling me about a hideous event that happened during a skirmish in a little ruined town in World War I. He'd killed someone in a miserable, horrible way and that had obviously haunted him throughout the rest of his life. As my grandfather died, in his mind he was back in that town, trying to find a German boy whom he'd bayonetted in the forehead. He'd lived with that memory all his life – and he was of a time when people kept things to themselves. When he finally told the story, it really affected me and I've not been able to get it out of my head."
During the early portion of the film, the scene is re-envisualised in a broken church, when Sergeant Michael Dunne bayonets a young German soldier through the forehead.
Cast
- Paul GrossPaul GrossPaul Michael Gross is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the television series Due South as well as his 2008 war film Passchendaele, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in...
– Michael Dunne - Caroline DhavernasCaroline DhavernasCaroline Dhavernas is a Canadian actress. Dhavernas is best known in the United States as "Jaye" from the short-lived television series Wonderfalls on Fox. She starred as Dr. Lily Brenner in the ABC medical drama Off the Map.-Life and career:...
– Sarah Mann - Joe DinicolJoe DinicolJoe Dinicol is a Canadian actor.Dinicol was born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of acting coach and actor Keith Dinicol. He started his career as a child actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and has since appeared on national Canadian television series Train 48 and Rideau Hall...
– David Mann - Meredith Bailey – Cassie Walker
- David Ley – Doctor Walker
- Joe Desmond – Lt. Hanson
- Jim Mezon – Dobson-Hughes
- Michael GreyeyesMichael GreyeyesMichael Greyeyes is a Canadian actor. He was born June 4, 1967. He is Plains Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. His father is from the Muskeg Lake First Nation and his mother is from the Sweetgrass First Nation, both located in Saskatchewan, Canada.He completed his...
– Highway - Brian JensenBrian JensenBrian Paldan "The Beast" Jensen is a Danish professional footballer who plays for Burnley as a goalkeeper. He has played more than 300 English league games since 2000 for Burnley and West Bromwich Albion....
– Major Bingham - Adam HarringtonAdam Harrington (actor)Adam John Harrington is an Canadian-American actor and producer. He is known for his role as Roy Earle in the video game L.A. Noire.-Personal life:...
– Colonel Ormond - Gil BellowsGil BellowsGil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
– Royster - James Kot – Skinner
- Jesse Frechette – Peters
- Hugh Probyn – Carmichael
- Brian Dooley – McKinnon
- Sean Anthony Olson – Lt. Maxwell
- Rainer Kahl – German Machine Gunner
- Landon LiboironLandon LiboironLandon Liboiron is a Gemini Award nominated Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Declan in Degrassi: The Next Generation, later named Degrassi. He currently stars in the Fox television series Terra Nova, as 17-year-old Josh Shannon....
– Young German Soldier
Funding
In November 2005, the Government of Alberta announced a $5.5-million grant to Gross and the film project as part of Alberta's centennial; the overall budget has been announced at between $16 million and $20 million, making it the highest-budgeted Canadian-produced film ever. The film was publicly announced at a news conference at the Museum of the Regiments on November 13, 2005."The province's centennial is a time to recognize our past and tell our stories, including those about Alberta's military heritage. We must work to keep our veterans' sacrifices in the forefront of our minds. The story of Passchendaele pays tribute to a key event in our country's history, and will educate Albertans and all Canadians for years to come." – Premier Ralph Klein
Plot
The main character is Sergeant Michael Dunne (later reverting to his mother's maiden name McCrae for re-enlistment), introduced in the spring of 1917 after Vimy RidgeBattle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
, a decorated veteran of the 10th Battalion, CEF
10th Battalion, CEF
The 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian field force unit created during the First World War. Technically distinct from the Militia from which its soldiers were drawn the unit served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force , specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to...
.
During heavy combat in a ruined town, Dunne is wounded and sent home from Europe as a neurasthenia
Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, neuralgia and depressed mood...
patient. While recovering from his injuries, he meets nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas
Caroline Dhavernas
Caroline Dhavernas is a Canadian actress. Dhavernas is best known in the United States as "Jaye" from the short-lived television series Wonderfalls on Fox. She starred as Dr. Lily Brenner in the ABC medical drama Off the Map.-Life and career:...
) in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, where he had originally enlisted.
Sarah Mann is drummed out of the local nursing service, and ostracised in town, because her father was of German descent and had left Canada to rejoin the Imperial German Army in 1915. He was killed at Vimy Ridge on the opposing side to Sgt. Dunne. She has become addicted to morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
as a means of dealing with the recurring loss in her life. Dunne, of Irish, Scottish, and English descent, does not like the idea.
David Mann (Joe Dinicol
Joe Dinicol
Joe Dinicol is a Canadian actor.Dinicol was born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of acting coach and actor Keith Dinicol. He started his career as a child actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and has since appeared on national Canadian television series Train 48 and Rideau Hall...
) is Sarah's younger brother. Despite being ineligible for military service due to asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, he is desperate to win the respect of his girlfriend's father at a time when military service is demanded of all young men. Ironically given his own German descent, he is accepted, being Canadian-born (unlike his older sister). He is vehemently anti-German and tries to expunge the fact that his father was German, and had died fighting for Germany, from the family history. His girlfriend's father pulls strings to get him enlisted, arguably in the hope that he will not return and marry his daughter. Sarah originally thinks Michael has enlisted David, in his role as local recruitment officer, but later finds this is untrue. The enlistment is further facilitated by a British recruiting officer whose malice and goading of David Mann and Michael Dunne makes him the film's principal antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Michael however feels a responsibility and re-enlists as Pvt. MacCrae in order to protect David at the front.
As a result, both David and Michael meet up in the trenches in France. Sarah also enlists and follows the 10th ending up as a nurse in triage
Triage
Triage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
at an Advanced Dressing Station near the front. The three arrive in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in time for the Battle of Passchendaele. Dunne and Sarah soon meet up again when Dunne brings a wounded man to the aid station. Although Dunne's cover as MacCrae is soon found out, by the inquisitive British Major (who has escaped his recruiting duties and also followed the 10th to France), he manages to escape punishment and is promoted to platoon leader by the Colonel who knew him from earlier fighting, when his past heroism "Should have earned him the V.C." and because of the need for experienced soldiers as high casualties were expected.
When the Canadians launch their attack, the 8th Battalion, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, known as the Little Black Devils, faces a German counterattack and becomes pinned down. Dunne's company is sent to support them. After the support company arrives, the 8th Battalion retreats from the battlefield, wrongly believing that they are finally relieved, leaving the job of holding the ground to Dunne's small force. As the reality of the war begins to set in, David Mann begins to realize the war was not what he believed it would be. Dunne's forces spend the night in their trenches, and as a result of the shelling, David begins to have an asthmatic/panic attack and Dunne calms him down, relieving the problem.
The next morning the Germans counter-attack, and make it as far as the line, and both forces attack each other in a horrifying slaughter, culminating in a brutal hand-to-hand combat involving bayonets, knives and makeshift weapons. A German soldier attacks Dunne and nearly stabs him, and David is forced to shoot the German (and hesitates). The viewer sees that the reality of actually killing another human being has finally been realized by David. As the Germans retreat, David breaks down and chases them back to surrender. He jumps into their trenches and is met by a gun to the face where he begs, telling them he is German. He is about to be shot when an artillery shell lands and the explosion throws him onto what is effectively a cross, created by walkway timbers from the trench. He is visually crucified by the explosion. This relates to Dunne's earlier story of the legendary, but false, report of the crucified soldier. When Dunne sees this he takes his helmet off, throws his gun down and runs to David, in a reckless attempt to keep his promise to keep him alive, getting shot in the process. He crawls to the cross on his knees, looking up at it. Both sides cease shooting, realizing that Dunne is harmless and only wants to retrieve David. Dunne carries the cross with David upon it across the calm battlefield, as the skies clear, once again mirroring Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
bearing his cross. Dunne slowly makes it across the battlefield to his men. The fighting swiftly resumes with a shell landing, and the viewers are brought back to the reality of the war. David lives, but Dunne is carried to the hospital where he dies after his last words with Sarah. This happens just as the news comes in that the Canadians have managed to take Passchendaele Ridge.
The ending scene shows the wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
-bound David Mann (now only with one leg); Sarah Mann; David's girlfriend Cassie; and Dunne's best friend Royster (Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
) paying tribute at Dunne's grave on his home farm (which had been made earlier in 1915 when he had enlisted and was sure that he would not return from the war). The marker has been altered to remove the "5" of 1915 and changed to 1917. The camera then pans out and the background alters to a field of hundreds of Canadian war graves with a riderless horse on the horizon (an image linking itself to a tale Michael told earlier and another very powerful symbol throughout the movie).
Historical background
1st Canadian Division
Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...
and participated in all major Canadian battles of the war, and set the record for highest number of individual bravery awards for a single battle. At Hill 70, sixty men were awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
for the fighting there, in addition to a Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, three Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
s, seven Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
es, and nine Distinguished Conduct Medal
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
s.
"Named for a village located on a low rise in the Ypres Salient, the very word Passchendaele has become synonymous with suffering and waste. Strong German defences in this area, developed over the course of more than two years, gave the British extremely hard going.
"The Tenth Battalion were called out of reserve to assist an attack on Hill 52, part of the same low rise Passchendaele itself was situated on. The Battalion was not scheduled to attack, but the CO wisely prepared his soldiers as if they would be making the main assault – a decision that paid dividends when the unit was called out of reserve. On 10 November 1917, the Tenth Battalion took the feature with light casualties."
Accuracy
The battle scene at the end of the movie depicts a relief of the 8th Battalion, CEF (known by their nickname "The Little Black Devils") by the 10th Battalion, an action that actually happened, as described by the history of the 10th Battalion:- At this point, a terrible misunderstanding occurred. Major Bingham knew that he was merely reinforcing the 8th, but The Little Black Devils believed that they were being relieved. Bingham argued the point to no avail, and watched with dismay as the mud-caked survivors of the 8th pulled out and slogged to the rear, leaving A Company to hold an entire battalion's frontage. Undaunted, the major deployed his men in a dangerously thin line, linking up with the 7th Battalion to the right. But Bingham surely realized that it would be impossible to hold this position in the face of a counter-attack.
Lieutenant Colonel Ormond, the Commanding Officer of the 10th (also a character in the film) gave a handwritten account of the relief in which he said:
- I then agreed to take over the front line from the 7th and 8th Battalions...On returning to Battalion headquarters I found orders that a relief would not be carried out, but as it had already been done, and the OC 8th Battalion had left to acquaint the GOC of the situation, no other action was taken.
Reception
Passchendaele received mixed reviews from critics. As of November 15, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that critics gave the film an average of 4.9 out of 10, based on 13 reviews. IMDb users gave the film an average of 6.8 out of 10, based on 3,370 votes as of October 26, 2010.
Box office
In its opening weekend, Passchendaele grossed $847,522 in 202 screens in Canada, ranking second at the Canadian box office behind Max PayneMax Payne (film)
Max Payne is a 2008 noir action film based on the 2001 video game of the same name by Remedy Entertainment. It was written by Beau Thorne and was directed by John Moore. The film stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role as Max Payne, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Jim Bravura and...
. As of January 22, 2009, the film had grossed $4.45 million, accounting for half of 2008's box office revenue from made-in-Canada anglophone films.
Awards
On March 2, 2009, Paul Gross was honoured for his film Passchendaele, winning that year's National Arts Centre Award for achievement over the past performance year.At the 29th Genie Awards
29th Genie Awards
The 29th Genie Awards were held on April 4, 2009 to honour films released in 2008. The ceremony was held at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, and was broadcast on Global...
, the film won the Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound, Achievement in Sound Editing, and Best Picture. It also received the Golden Reel Award
Golden Reel Award (Canada)
The Golden Reel Award is a Canadian film award, presented to the Canadian film with the biggest box office gross of the year. The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association introduced this award in 1976 as part of the Canadian Film Awards until 1979...
for Canada's top-grossing film of 2008.