Passchendaele

Passchendaele is a 2008 Canadian war film, 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, inspired by stories that Gross heard from his grandfather, a First World War soldier. The film had its premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2008, when it also had the honour of opening the festival. The film received a mixed reception upon release. 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. The film won five awards at the 29th Genie Awards, including Best Picture, and also received the Golden Reel Award for Canada's top-grossing film of 2008. Plot In the spring of 1917 after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Sergeant Michael Dunne of the 10th Battalion, CEF has survived heavy combat but suffers from neurasthenia. He is sent home for recovery and is viewed as a hero for taking out a German machine gun position. While in hospital in Calgary, Alberta, where he had originally enlisted, he meets nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas). David Mann (Joe Dinicol), Sarah's younger brother, is ineligible for military service due to asthma but is determined to enlist. The Manns are ostracized when it becomes known their father died at Vimy Ridge fighting for the Imperial German Army. The father of David's girlfriend pulls strings to allow David to enlist. Dunne feels responsible for David's wellbeing and reenlists as a private under his mother's maiden name, McCrae, promising Sarah he will protect her brother.