The Circuit

by Dade Hayes
Anyone who knows movie marketing will tell you that taglines don't come easy. For every inspired one like "In space, no one can hear you scream" ("Alien"), there's a non-starter like "This time, you can't change the channel" ("Freddie Got Fingered").

Even grading on a steep curve, though, the poster for Toronto Film Festival opener "Passchendaele" is a head-scratcher. The $20 million WWI drama, a more muscular and traditional production than previous Toronto openers, is slated for wide Canadian release in October by Alliance Films. Thus, posters are ubiquitous in Toronto as thousands of fest-goers swarm over the city.

All of the usual genre elements are there -- serious black background, sepia-toned battlefield in the distance, two lovers embracing as a drenching rain falls. One's interest is piqued. Then comes the payoff: "In love, there is only one rule: Don't die."

So many questions flood to mind after reading that, and then rereading it to make sure it's real. Isn't not dying the rule in everything? Is this actually a plug for the "Passchendaele" videogame? Did a rough draft from a failed brainstorming session just make its way to the printer? And, most importantly, would real lovers ever actually express themselves this way?

In "Passchendaele," the answer to the last question is yes. The tagline stems directly from a line of dialogue that pops up twice out of two characters' mouths in the trailer. The trailer is a heavy-handed affair that starts off with the booming voiceover "It was a time of innocence ... a time of love ... a time of war." (And maybe a time to tweak the ad copy.)


The one-sheet and trailer and other info about the film are on the official "Passchendaele" site here.