The film does, however, mean well, and it focuses on an underreported piece of history. Loosely based on Robert M. Edsel’s nonfiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, it centers on the efforts of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program set up during the later stages of the war. The goal of the program was to preserve works of art as Allied forces marched toward victory.