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
Toronto fest opener crudely welds the grisly verisimilitude of Saving Private Ryan to the contempo cultural revisionism of Pearl Harbor but can't forge the disparate tones into a powerful whole.
– Eddie Cockrell,
Variety,
5 Sep 2008
fresh:
Passchendaele hearkens back to war films of decades past, when patriotism, valour and integrity were presented without irony. But it is infused with the stoicism of people who know it is their job to try to find meaning within an insane situation.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
5 Sep 2008
rotten:
A war movie that can't make up its mind whether war is bad or something one can be proud of.
– Kirk Honeycutt,
Hollywood Reporter,
3 Oct 2008
rotten:
The scenes may be embarrassing, but at least Gross can't be accused of playing it safe.
– Liam Lacey,
Globe and Mail,
17 Oct 2008
fresh:
As a director, Gross paints in big, emotive strokes, and though his dialogue often feels too tied to historical fact, this old-fashioned, patriotic war movie has its heart in the right place.