Thirteen Days video review and analysis

¶ … ceases to amaze me that a handful of individuals and their very striking and definite personalities can have such a huge effect on the course of history. The film Thirteen Days illustrates this general principle very clearly with the specific example of the Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred in 1962. United States spy planes revealed that the Soviet Union was moving missiles to Cuba that would be capable of striking the United States and killing millions.

Several courses of action were considered and pursued during the thirteen days of the crisis, and the world came very close to the brink of nuclear war. The film is not primarily concerned with the effects of the various decisions made, however, but rather with the men that made them, and the reasons and explanations for these decisions. Based on a book which was itself based on tapes from the White House during the time of the crisis, this movie provides a fairly accurate historical depiction of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and the other major players in the crisis, including Secretary of Defense and the architect of the naval blockade that eventually cooled things down, Robert S. McNamara.

Historical accuracy is essential in such a film, but even more important is the entertainment value, which this movie also has in spades. This may seem a controversial idea to put forth, and by no means am I suggesting that the telling of an historical story be altered so as to increase viewership. However, film is a medium that must entertain if it hopes to inform. Books can be perused, browsed through, and skimmed for information when they become to dry, but even documentaries are constructed so as to retain audience interest. Fictionalized accounts of history can become quite dry, but Thirteen Days manages to capture the tension of the conflict in an exciting and informative way.

Because of the high stakes that surrounded each character's decisions, Thirteen Days remained exciting even during technical discussions of policy. Not only was it entertaining, then, but it also greatly increased my understanding of the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the methods by which decisions are reached, in Washington and probably in most -- if not all -- current and historical halls of government during times of crisis. The negotiation and circumvention of the many personalities involved in powerful, history-making decisions is a delicate and complex dance that only true masters can maneuver in, and in Thirteen Days both Kennedy brothers and, to a degree, Robert S. McNamara were all portrayed as such political masters.