THIRTEEN DAYS

(December 2000, U.S.)

Kevin Costner and JFK; by this time the two names are practically synonymous with each other. One might almost be surprised that Costner was even cast in THIRTEEN DAYS, a historical political thriller based on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when he was already so well linked with the legendary United States president from Oliver Stones landmark 1991 film. Yet the viewer is practically required to put aside any relations of the past and give Costner the chance to break out and further express his talents and convictions against another infamous part of our history in the 1960s.

Many of my readers were likely only small children or not even born yet when in October of 1962, the photos of a U-2 aerial surveillance revealed that the Soviet Union wass in the process of secretly placing intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. President John F. Kennedy (played by Bruce Greenwood) and his advisers, including his own brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (played by Steven Culp) were faced with the immediate task of coming up with a plan of action to prevent their activation. Kennedy was determined to show that the U.S. would not allow a missile threat against our country. He was reluctant to attack and invade Cuba because it would likely cause the Soviets to invade Berlin, which in turn, could easily lead to inevitable war. Kennedy's administration tried to find a solution that would remove the missiles and avoid war. Instead, U.S. naval forces stopped all ships entering Cuban waters with a blockade and inspected them to verify there were no destined for Cuba.

Continuing to order spy plane photos, Kennedy's top adviser Kenny O'Donnel (played by Costner) secretly alerts the pilots to have them ensure our government that they have not been fired upon by the enemy, for if they do, the country would be forced to retaliate its own rules of engagement. There are several frightening glitches during this ongoing crisis; the defense readiness level of our Strategic Air Command (SAC) is raised to DEFCON 2 (this is just one step shy of maximum readiness of war), without informing Kennedy. Nuclear weapon tests are also carried out without the President's knowledge. After much deliberation with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, Kennedy makes a final attempt to avoid war by sending RFK to meet with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. Bobby demands that the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba, and in return promises not to invade or assist in the invasion of Cuba. From the other end, the U.S. must remove all its missiles from Turkey, on the border of the Soviet Union. A quid pro quo is not possible, but in exchange for Premier Khrushchev removing all the missiles from Cuba, there will be a secret understanding that the U.S. will remove all of its "obsolete" missiles from Turkey within six months as part of a pre-scheduled plan. The Soviets announce that they will remove their missiles from Cuba, averting a war that could have escalated to the use of nuclear weapons and World War II. As the film ends, we're reminded of Kennedy's famous audio commencement speech, "A Strategy for Peace", at the American University in 1963.

History, at its best, it truly compelling. The Cuban Missile Crisis reminds us of just how close we really came to a horrible destiny. Roger Donaldson's film concentrates hard on the drama of facts and speculation, while not concerning itself too much with action. We witness on screen portraits of real life people who were involved in the crisis, as well a first-hand study of specific items like high-altitude photographs and intelligent reports, all the while wondering ourselves if the Soviets could be trusted at a time when the Cold War was at its worst. The decisions of men in power are tense and truly terrifying even in the face of trying to remain rational in a time of great fear. Perhaps the film can even remind us that no matter how bad things seem right now under a "man" like Donald Trump, it may be a far less terrifying situation than a world that was once on the brink of war for thirteen days in October.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Kenny O'Donnell: "If the sun comes up tomorrow, it is only because of men of good will. That is all there is between us and the devil."