Passchendaele (film)

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Actor-Director Paul Gross with a movie poster for Passchendaele at the news conference announcing the release of the film in November 2006.

Passchendaele is the name of a film project spearheaded by Canadian actor Paul Gross. The film, to be shot in Calgary, Alberta, CFB Suffield, and on location in Belgium, focuses on the experiences of Gross' grandfather, Michael Dunne, a soldier who served in the 10th Battalion, CEF in the First World War at the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres). The film will tentatively be released on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2007.

1 Current status
2 Inspiration
3 Funding
4 Synopsis
5 Historical background
6 References

[edit] Current status

The film is currently in pre-production and casting companies in Calgary are assembling extras for the film, which will include large scale battle sequences similar to those in Legends of the Fall (1994), which was also filmed near Calgary.

[edit] Inspiration

The film was inspired by Gross' relationship with his grandfather; 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 bayonetting a young German through the face and killing him during a battle. A long time later, as Dunne lay in 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 in the First World War.

"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." - Paul Gross, Now Magazine (UK), 11 June 1998

[edit] Funding

In November 2005, the Government of Alberta announced a 5.5 million dollar grant to Gross and the film project as part of Alberta's centennial; the overall budget has been announced at between 16 and 20 million dollars. The film was publicly announced at a news conference at the Museum of the Regiments on 13 Nov 2005.

"The province's centennial is a time to recognize our past and tell our stories, including those about Alberta's military heritage," said Premier Ralph Klein. "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

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The main character, Sergeant Dunne, sees action with the 10th Battalion and is wounded and sent to Calgary on light duties as a recruiter's assistant. While there, he becomes involved with a nurse of half-German origin. Her brother is sent to France by an unscrupulous recruiter, and Sergeant Dunne rejoins the 10th Battalion in the field in time for the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) where he pledges to look out for the nurse's young brother who is also in the war.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Historical background

The 10th Battalion was originally formed from Albertans and Manitobans, though as the war went on 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 Orders, seven Military Crosses, and nine Distinguished Conduct Medals.

According to The Calgary Highlanders website:

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.