Reviews

I had the Honor of seeing the "Premier" In Halifax tonight and I predict big things for this movie. The story is great, its not overly dramatic like certain WWII films that have been coming out, but instead relies on a simple story that lets you know the characters better. You follow Sgt Dunne from the opening scenes on the front back home to life in Calgary. Although this film boasts a "The birth of Canada" in the trailer it does not blow you full of patriotism. You see the graves at the end of the film from Passchendaele and real footage from the Canadians in WWI. Paul Gross nails this movie by showing you what it was like to fight in a trench war, in the mud and amongst your friends bodies. I did an interview with him (appearing in "THE SMU JOURNAL" next week) and talked to him about how Canadians may relate to this film in following generations due to the dwindling number of Canadian WWI survivors. Currently there is one remaining. But what I was impressed by was watching the characters struggle in this war torn environment. Gross told us that 4 months was spent designing the set. 50 Acres of land had to have the topsoil removed, then craters dug and followed by a few hundred trees being burned and replanted. Then the area was soaked for 3 weeks in order to keep the ground from holding more water. Then the actors went to work. Just watch how difficult this "moonscape" is to move in and you will have a better understanding on life in the trenches. During our interview I stated that "The imagery from this film will tell more then the script" and Gross replied, your f****** right it will. During the filming I had a brief glimpse of what it was like to be there."

Again, great story and fantastic imagery will put this film in the running. It doesn't matter if you are Canadian or not, you will see a great story unfold. Not a traditional war film.