Passchendaele of the Christ. I am passionate about PASSCHENDAELE. In complete antithesis to another reviewer, I feel this film has succeeded on so many levels. I went in to the theatre out of pride for Canada but went out of the theatre with the joy of seeing a contemporary classic, worthy of many Genies and even Oscars. It reminded me of THE English PATIENT which was also based on a Canadian story and did win Best Picture. The things I found lacking in this Minghella film seemed to be more satisfying in Paul Gross's film. This is the man who directed MEN WITH BROOMS not long ago. What an incredible leap of skill. PASSCHENDAELE has award worthy cinematography, music, acting, writing, direction, costume, and nearly every other category. I can't think of any other film that captures the life and times of World War I. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT comes to mind (this also won the Best Picture Oscar) and the two films due share similar sensitivity and symbolism. With ALL QUIET, we have the butterfly as the Peace symbol. In PASSCHENDAELE, we have the dove (and, in contrast, the kestrel). In the climax, Michael Dunne, the Christ figure, is "carrying his cross" and his strength fails him. Then, he looks up and sees the dove, not the kestrel which symbolizes his love of woman (Sarah) but the dove which symbolizes his love of mankind. The dove in Christian symbolism represents the Holy Spirit which, like it did for Michael Dunne, gives us the strength to carry our cross. Earlier in the film, Michael Dunne says that "Jesus did not die for our sins but he laid down the template". Gross's soldier is the perfect template of this agape love, that there is "no greater love than to lay down ones' life for ones' brother". Many might have been disappointed in the film's ending but in the context of this Christian sacrifice, one can see the film's ending as a great victory and the spirit of Michael Dunne lives on. PASSCHENDAELE is a story of redemption so it is appropriate to have allusions to the Redeemer.