This is one of the reasons I don't like movies based on a true story. It's usually so far from the truth that you lose site of what really happened. They are misleading and they sugar coat everything. History is being lost for entertainment. The pursuit of knowledge is no longer a thing. People get hung up on what they want to see or what makes them laugh or feel good they no longer care about what actually happened to people and the awful things they went through
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That's always at the back of my head nagging me when I see films "based on a true story". I know many of the viewers are going to leave the theatre believing all the events and characters on the big screen are truthfully re-enacted, and during the exciting scenes I find myself distracted wondering if the events really happened, or if they were invented for the film.
I've seen three of these films so far this year.
The Greatest Showman is a musical, so obviously the events in the film were completely different in real life. For one I sincerely doubt the real P. T. Barnum broke into song ever half hour of his waking life. We also realise that his show must have been nothing at all like the song we see all his employees perform together in the film. There were still a lot of scenes presented in the way they could have happened, but I assumed a large amount of artistic freedom even in those.
I, Tonya is the polar opposite, in that it's filmed like a documentary, including interviews with the characters represented as what they might be like today. Many times during the film I found myself thinking along the lines of "they can't possible have been that stupid". During the end credits though they show some real video clips of the people the characters are based on, and it lent more credibility to the events I had seen. When I got home from the theatre I read an article from Vulture that actually presents the film as surprisingly credible.
Den 12. Mann was the one that seemed the most believable. No particular scene seemed especially exaggerated (except maybe how tough the conditions the protagonist survived were). I've read some newspaper articles though that explain that the hunt for the protagonist never actually happened, because the Germans all the while believed him dead.
I enjoyed all three films greatly, and can recommend all of them, but as with with all films "based on a true story" it's best to assume most of it is fiction.
Great additions to the discussion. You're right; any basis in real life is "loose" at best.
I guess not all movies based on true story is really "based on true story". Movie industry is very playful when it comes to that.
Wouldn't the word "Based" be used subjectively in this case. It doesn't necessarily mean everything in these type movies are true.
Nothing subjective about it.. "based on a true story" means just that - based on the story.
It does not mean, "The faithful re-telling of a true story".
One could argue we lose history because of it, but on the other hand many of our beloved fairy and folk tales (even before they've been Disneyified) are 'based on a true story'.
Dracula and Vlad the Impaler come to mind.
That's what I just said... and it IS totally subjective (based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions), that part being NOT exactly truthful.
this is where i think the description of what the movie is should be better stated. they shouldn't say based on a true story if not all facts are true to their knowledge. they should put inspired by ect. when people see based on a true story they are automatically start thinking ok this is what happened it just says "based" so that the film industry doesn't get sued for making a mistake
Words are definitely misleading or misunderstood. Inspired would be more accurate in this case, huh?
Exactly, you can hardly on to real life event or history, they just edit and twist the real story and misleading us to another path and turn it into fictions. Great stories are are meant to be told exactly the way the stories are and that should be the respect we owe them.