‘Mending the Line' is a drama film about John Colter, a US Marine who gets wounded in Afghanistan and transported to a VA facility in Montana to heal.
With the horrors of battle still plaguing him, both mentally and physically, Johnny befriends an elderly Vietnam battle veteran named Ike. Ike exposes Colter to the sport of fly fishing to divert John's attention away from the battlefield and his desire to return to it.
Joshua Caldwell directed the film, which carefully portrays the trauma that troops suffer and how it impacts them in their lives outside of the service. Brian Cox, Perry Mattfeld, and Sinqua Walls deliver outstanding performances that add to the emotional depth of the plot. But is there any truth to this tale of fly-fishing? Let us plunge in and find out!
Is Mending the Line Based on a True Story?
Mending the Line is not based on a true story. Despite the amazing performances of its two stars, Mending the Line is not based on a factual story.
Mending the Line, written by Stephen Camilo, is based on real-life rehabilitation institutions for war veterans, which emphasize getting former soldiers closer to nature in an attempt to battle their post-traumatic stress disorders.
According to The Direct, Camilo stated that rehabilitation institutions such as Warriors & Quiet Waters assisted him in processing his grief following the death of his father, a Vietnam veteran, from an illness caused by Agent Orange exposure.
Mending the Line modernizes Camilo's real-life experiences via the perspective of its protagonist, John. Whereas Cox's Ike Fletcher is a Vietnam veteran, John is an Afghanistan veteran, and despite their generational differences, they share the anguish of reintegration into society.
Read More: Is Band of Brothers Based on a True Story?
Proving to audiences that war can have a catastrophic effect on anyone's psyche, regardless of age, and then exhibiting how they can overcome their pain together, makes for an encouraging story, all while commemorating Camilo's father and the impact his death had on the writer.
