When Does "Six Minutes to Midnight" (2020) Take Place?
"Six Minutes to Midnight" is a historical fiction spy film written by Eddie Izzard with Celyn Jones and Andy Goddard that released September 25th, 2020. So when is "Six Minutes to Midnight" set?
It takes place in the year:
We know this because the main action's plot deals with a real-world group of the children of Nazi German high government officials in Bexhill-on-Sea, England as the real-world global conflict World War II is widely expected by the British to start but hasn't yet. In the real-world, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939 AD starting the war so it must be before September of 1939 AD.
1939 AD
We know this because the main action's plot deals with a real-world group of the children of Nazi German high government officials in Bexhill-on-Sea, England as the real-world global conflict World War II is widely expected by the British to start but hasn't yet. In the real-world, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939 AD starting the war so it must be before September of 1939 AD.
More specifically, when Nazi German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Soviet Russian General Secretary Joseph Stalin agreed to the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on August 24th, 1939 AD they created a massive unified force and gave the impression war was imminent.
Specifically, when Captain Thomas Miller interviews with Ellen Rocholl (based on the real-world Helena Rocholl) for the teaching position at the real-world Augusta-Victoria College her desk calendar displays "MONDAY 21 AUGUST". At about one-fifth through the narrative, once he's started teaching the girls the desk calendar reads "SATURDAY 26 AUGUST". So it is certainly August of 1939 AD.
Additionally, there's a prologue showing us the reason the school suddenly needs a new English teacher on "such short notice" as Rocholl puts it during Miller's interview. So presumably it is less than a month previous to the interview on August 21st, 1939 AD.
Furthermore, the very first shot of the prologue includes a time setting title card that reads "AUGUST 15th 1939, ENGLAND".
Finally, there's an epilogue during which the same desk calendar shows: "SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER". The final moments is a government radio announcement stating "unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us" and ..."consequently this country is at war with Germany." This indeed happened in the real world on September 3rd, 1939 AD. So it's September of 1939 AD in the epilogue.
