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Front Lines

2008 33 min
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A tribute to the combatants in the First World War, this film traces the conflict through the war diary and private letters of five Canadian soldiers and a nurse. Hearing them, the listener detects between the lines an unspoken horror censored by war and propriety.The film mingles war footage, historical photos and readings of excerpts from the diary and letters. The directorial talent of Claude Guilmain breathes life into these 90-year-old documents and accompanying archival images so that we experience the human face and heart of the conflict.For the educational sector, five documentary vignettes have been drawn from the film: …

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Front Lines

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A tribute to the combatants in the First World War, this film traces the conflict through the war diary and private letters of five Canadian soldiers and a nurse. Hearing them, the listener detects between the lines an unspoken horror censored by war and propriety.

The film mingles war footage, historical photos and readings of excerpts from the diary and letters. The directorial talent of Claude Guilmain breathes life into these 90-year-old documents and accompanying archival images so that we experience the human face and heart of the conflict.

For the educational sector, five documentary vignettes have been drawn from the film: Nurses at the Front, The Officer's Role, The Life of the Soldier, Faith and Hope and The Trenches, each with further information on its particular subject.

War, Conflict and Peace Foreign Countries History - Canada - 1867-1919 All subjects
  • director
    Claude Guilmain
  • writer
    Claude Guilmain
  • researcher
    Claude Guilmain
  • script translator
    Claude Guilmain
  • actor
    Paul Gross
    Joe Dinicol
    Jean Yoon
    Philip Graeme
    Dylan Roberts
    Colm Feore
    Steve Baker
    Paul Fauteux
    Jordon Pettle
  • additional voice
    Petra Valier
    Manfred Becker
    Doïna Harap
    Alex Strijevsky
  • research advisor
    Michel Litalien
  • script consultant
    Monique Proulx
  • visual advisor
    Luc Bourdon
  • director of photography
    François Dagenais
  • production manager
    Lara Popic
  • editing
    Peter Vinet
  • sound editing
    Daniel Toussaint
  • sound design
    Daniel Toussaint
  • sound editing - assistance
    Luc Raymond
  • foley
    Stéphane Cadotte
  • original music
    Claude Naubert
  • musician
    Claude Naubert
    Renée-Paule Gauthier
    Andréa Armijo-Fortin
    David Thies-Thompson
    Carole Sirois
  • online editing
    Françoise Laprise
  • re-recording
    Serge Boivin
  • titles
    Gaspard Gaudreau
    Philippe Raymond
  • marketing manager
    Julie Arseneault
  • marketing assistant
    Karine Sévigny
  • administrator
    Alexandrine Torres de Figueiredo
  • administrative assistant
    Vanessa Emam
  • technical coordinator
    Micheline Faubert
  • producer
    Anne-Marie Rocher
  • executive producer
    Jacques Turgeon
  • partnerships
    Liliane Tremblay

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Education

Ages 14 to 17
School subjects
English Language Arts - CanLit History - World War I Media Education - Journalism/News
Of interest to teachers of the history of World War I with a focus on the men and women on the front lines. Discuss the great emotional toll on the Canadian soldiers as they witnessed the atrocities of war. Compare their lives with the lives of the officers whose task it was to keep up morale, while forced to keep a tally of losses and casualties. Have students comment on the role of nurses and highlight their immense value to the war effort. Discuss the horrors and terror of trench warfare. Have students comment on the religious belief and faith displayed by those involved in the war and the value of communication with loved ones at home.

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