Thirteen Days

Docudrama in which Roger Donaldson reconstructs the 13 days in November 1962 of the Cuban missile crisis, a showdown between the two superpowers, the USA and the USSR, that dragged the world to the precipice of nuclear catastrophe. What we get to see is based on leaked tapes of reports from the White House, where the crisis was painstakingly managed. Protagonists are President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Secretary of Justice Robert F. Kennedy but also their prominent adviser Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) who acts as a quasi third brother. The nerve-wracking behind-the-scenes battle is fought on several fronts, in the Oval Office, the Pentagon, the United Nations and the Soviet embassy in Washington. JFK must confront not only Moscow but also his generals who sometimes seem to be live versions of the trigger happy caricatures from Dr. Strangelove.