21 Brothers (2011)

Set in W.W.1 the film follows the story of the Canada's 21st battalion as it prepares for the battle of Courcelette in September 1916.

Director:

Michael McGuire

Writers:

Clayton Garrett (story), Michael McGuire (story)

Stars:

Steve VanVolkingburgh, Clayton Garrett, Steven Spencer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve VanVolkingburgh	...	Lt. Robert Thomas
Clayton Garrett	...	Sgt. Mac Reid
Steven Spencer	...	Cpl. Jensen
Aaron Miedema	...	Cpl. Pears
Brian McDonald	...	Pte. Brooks
Tom Sinclair	...	Pte. Matheson
Zorba Dravillas	...	Pte. Banks
Dorian Hartley	...	Pte. Cuddy
Jonathan Pap	...	Pte. Langdon
Christopher Hoeft	...	Pte. Reid
Michael McGuire	...	Pte. Wilson
Jacob Wilkins	...	Pte. Hancock
L. Robert Tippin	...	Pte. Morton
Dann Bertrand	...	Pte. Potter
Grant Nalepa	...	Pte. Grant

Storyline

21 Brothers tells the story of the Canadians 21st Battalion as they prepare for the battle of Courcelette in WWI. Taking place in real time, the film follows Sgt. Reid as he must get his men ready for the impending battle. Not only must he prep his battalion Sgt. Reid must also deal with the day to day difficulties of life in the trenches, including injuries to his men, supply issues, and an underage recruit who has recently been sent into the front lines.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1916 | number 21 in title | september | battle | battalion | 

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Taglines:

The army made them soldiers, war made them family

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The producers built the trench used in the film by hand, it took over three months to construct.

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Soundtracks

The Miracle
Written by Michael George
Performed by Michael George

User Reviews

Boring and Poorly Made Movie

I was looking forward to seeing this movie based on its subject, but after watching it all I can say is was very disappointing. The movie from the beginning presented as poorly made and clearly lacking in detail as well as the character and texture of a war movie. In regards to the filming it looks a lot of the time over exposed and filmed on what seems to be a very sunny day. The consequence is a lot of the detail is "burnt" out.

The trench setting the film is shot in is totally unconvincing and the set design lacks any character or feel of what one would imagine a WW1 trench to look and feel like. It certainly does not reflect any appearance of the old black and white photos of the era. In addition the trench is way too shallow with the soldiers walking around with their heads and upper torsos above the top of the trench. The sandbags look very new and trench set is without duck boards or any timber hoarding, which is not how trench walls would have been built. One of the soldiers gets trench foot, but the trench environment looks very dry and parched. Not the type of environment conducive to trench foot.

In addition to the above most of the actors appear some what over-weight, again not typical of young physically fit fighting men of the first world war. This combined with very average acting added to the film being difficult to engage with.

In summary give it a miss its boring, plain and seemingly low budget. Nothing like Passchendaele, Beneath Hill 60 and certainly nothing like All Quiet On The Western Front.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 2012 (Canada)

Also Known As:

1914 the War to End All Wars

Filming Locations:

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD25,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

21 Brothers Productions, Factory Film Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color