Summaries

The lives of a troubled veteran, his nurse girlfriend and a naive boy intersect first in Alberta and then in Belgium during the bloody World War I battle of Passchendaele.

Sergeant Michael Dunne fights in the 10th Battalion, AKA The "Fighting Tenth" 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.—Mark Cameron

1917. Back home in Calgary after fighting at Vimy Ridge, Sgt. Michael Dunne is now working in the army recruitment office. This situation was his only viable option as he went AWOL in being shell-shocked by his experience in battle, especially in being decorated for the brutal killing of a German soldier, and it was either this job or go through a court-martial for desertion which would have eventually led to his execution in the certainty of being found guilty despite that decoration. Major Dobson-Hughes, his direct superior at the office, seems intent on making Michael's life miserable, Dobson-Hughes who has an idealized view of the conflict as one never having seen battle and thus who would arguably have preferred to see Michael court-martialed. Despite this situation, Michael, doing whatever to accomplish his goal, decides to reenlist under an assumed name to serve in the same regiment as and thus look out for David Mann, the younger brother of his girlfriend, Sarah Mann, a nurse who he met while recuperating from his battle injuries in the military hospital in Calgary. While David has a necessary medical exemption as an asthmatic, he, with a romanticized view of war in wanting to show that he is a real man and not a sickly boy, pressed to enlist as a condition by his fiancée Cassie Walker's father, Dr. Walker, for marriage, Michael, in turn, knowing that Dr. Walker's own goal is to get David out of Cassie's life in the expectation that David will never come back from battle alive. One set of issues for Dr. Walker in not wanting the marriage to happen is the discovery that Sarah and David are ethnic Germans and that their now deceased father fought for Germany at Vimy Ridge. Michael and David's regiment is eventually sent to fight at Passchendaele, what ends up being one of the bloodiest battles in the war. The question is how Michael will react this time around in battle under this new circumstance with David under his wings.—Huggo

In 1917, in World War I, the veteran Sergeant, Michael Dunne, is wounded at the front and nursed by Sarah Mann. He is diagnosed as neurasthenic and returns to his hometown, Calgary, to work in the recruitment section. When Sarah's asthmatic brother, David, is enlisted and demands that this be recognized by the father of his girlfriend, Cassie Walker. Sarah believes that Michael is responsible, and blames him for the engagement of her brother in the army. Michael re-enlists, using his mother last name, in order to protect David and they are sent to the no man's land at the front line of the Battle of Passchendaele.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Details

Keywords
  • male rear nudity
  • battle
  • world war one
  • canadian armed forces
  • canadian soldier
Genres
  • Drama
  • Romance
  • History
  • War
Release date Oct 16, 2008
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) R
Countries of origin Canada
Language English German French
Filming locations Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada
Production companies Rhombus Media Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund Damberger Film & Cattle Co.

Box office

Budget $20000000

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 54m
Color Color Black and White
Sound mix DTS Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio 2.35 : 1

Synopsis

Set during the height of the First World War, Passchendaele tells the story of Sergeant Michael Dunne (Paul Gross), a soldier who is brutally wounded in France and returns to Calgary emotionally and physically scarred. While in the military hospital in Calgary, he meets Sarah (Caroline Dhavernas), a mysterious and attractive nurse with whom he develops a passionate love. When Sarah's younger asthmatic brother David (Joe Dinicol) signs up to fight in Europe, Michael feels compelled to return to Europe to protect him. Michael and David, like thousands of Canadians, are sent to fight in the third battle of Ypres, a battle against impossible odds, commonly known as "Passchendaele". It is a story of passion, courage and dedication, showing the heroism of those that fought in battle, and of the ones that loved them.

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