Was 1917 Based On a True Story?

The war drama 1917 was inspired by a true story that was told by the grandfather of the film’s director Sam Mendes, even though a little fiction was infused in the story.

Mendes’ grandfather had been injured in May 1918 after an accidental inhalation of poisonous gas used by the German army when they were ambushed at La Bassee Canal near Béthune, France.

“I had a story that was a fragment told to me by my grandfather, who fought in the First World War. It’s the story of a messenger who has a message to carry. And that’s all I can say. It lodged with me as a child, this story or this fragment, and obviously I’ve enlarged it and changed it significantly. But it has that at its core.”

Mendes’ grandfather happens to be the messenger in question.

About The Film 1917

1917 is a war film based on World War I.

Directed and produced by Sam Mendes, and partly inspired by the narratives told to him by his grandfather Alfred, who served during World War I.

The movie, which was released on December 25, 2019, was set after Operation Alberich, when the Germans had retreated to the Hindenburg Line.

The story is centered on two British soldiers named Will Schofield and Tom Blake, who are sent on an risky mission to stop a failed offensive onslaught.

Schofield injures his left hand while trying to cross no man’s land with Blake to the abandoned German fortifications.

They find a tripwire set up by the Germans in an underground barracks, which is triggered by a rat. Schofield nearly does in the explosion, but Blake was able to rescue him, and the two manage to flee.

Upon arrival, they discover a German fighter was being shot down in a combat with an Allied aircraft over an abandoned farmhouse. Schofield and Blake were able to save the burned pilot.

Blake somehow was stabbed by the pilot and dies. Schofield was also able to kill the pilot and makes a promise to Blake to complete the mission and write to Blake’s mother.

Starring in the movie are George MacKay, Dean-Charles, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch.