,
Film: 13 Days
Director:
RogerDonaldson
Certificate:
12 Running
time:145minutes
INTRODUCTION.
THE CUBAN MISSILECRISIS,1962
Forthirteenextraordinary
daysin October1962,the worldstoodon the brinkof an
unthinkable
catastrophe.
Acrossthe globe,peopleanxiously
awaitedtheoutcomeof a
political,diplomatic
harrowing
and militaryconfrontation
thatthreatened
to end in a
nuclearexchange
betweenthe UnitedStatesandthe SovietUnion.TheCubanMissile
Crisiswasthe closestthe worldevercameto nuclearwar.The UnitedStatesarmed
forceswereat theirhigheststateof readiness
everandSovietfieldcommanders
in
Cubawerepreparedto usebattlefieldnuclearweaponsto defendthe islandif it was
invaded.
Luckily,
thanksto two men,President
JohnF Kennedyand PremierNikita
Khrushchev,
warwas averted.
In 1962,the SovietUnionwasdesperately
behindthe UnitedStatesin thearmsrace.
wereonlypowerfulenoughto be launched
Sovietmissiles
againstEurope.US missiles
werecapableof strikingthe entireSovietUnion.In April1962,SovietPremierNikita
Khrushchev
conceived
the ideaof placingintermediate-range
missilesin Cuba.A
in Cubawoulddoublethe Sovietstrategicarsenaland providea real
deployment
deterrent
to a potential
US attackagainstthe SovietUnionor Cuba.ln mid-July
of 1962
the SovietUnionbeganits buildupof offensiveweaponsin Cuba.FidelCastrowas
lookingfor a wayto defendhis islandnationfroman attackby the US.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Finda listof thekeyeventsof the CubanMissileCrisis.ls thisthe storythatis toldin the
tilm ThirteenDays?lf it isn't,thenwhy not?Whatelsehasbeenincluded?
Whathas
beenmissedout?Belowaresomecomments
by thefilmmakers:
I saw the CubanMissileCrisisnot justas a chapterin historybut as a greatstory- the
ultimatecinematicpoliticalthrillerwith the fate of the worldin the balance.
That'swherethe realtensionlies- in how the decisionsweremade,and how these
youngmen handledthe toughestdilemmaanyonecouldface.
Whenyou meetthesepeople,who in somewayshavecometo seemlargerthanlife,
andyou hear theirfearsin theirown words,you get a veryfrighteningsenseof the
incomprehensible
fire powerand militarymightthat eachside was marshalling.The
nuclearguns wereloadedon both sidesin a staredownof globalproportions,and
there'sneverbeenanythinglike if. --RogerDonaldson,director
Thereare many,manyaccountsof the CubanMissileCrisis.ThirteenDaysnowjoins
thatvastbodyof workas one viewof the event.lt is drawnfromthe record,but
narrowedandfocusedanddramatised
to createa coherent,accessible
and entertaining
story.Thisfilm is notthe finalwordor definitivedocument,but ratheras a departure
pointto encourage
conversation
andexploration
of leadership
in the nuclearagewhose
awfulspectrewe all stillliveunder.-- PeterAlmond,producer
l'l
/A
Y
aboutthe story?How
Whatarethe mainelements
thatthesetwofilmmakersemphasise
from
thosethatare
Missile
differ
mighttheseelementsof the storyof the Cuban
Crisis
PeterAlmondstressesthat
whichmightbe usedby a historian?
important
to elements
pointfor conversation
He
andexploration.
thefilmshouldbe seenas a departure
aboutleadership.
suggests
thatthefilmcouldleadto discussion
Whatotheraspectsof the Crisiscouldthefilm,ThirteenDays,leadus to talkabout?
DRAMA, STORY AND HISTORY
mayfacewhenproducing
a filmabouta
Oneof the mainproblems
a film-maker
'know
ThirteenDaysas
lf
we
take
the ending'.
historicaf
eventis thatthe audiencewill
an example,we knowthatthe CubanMissileCrisiswas resolvedandthat nuclearwar
did not breakout.Yetthe wholefilm revolvesaroundthe dramaof the realpossibility
thatwarmightbreakoutduringthosedaysin 1962.
Thinkof otherhistoricalfilms
whichalsofacedthesameproblem:Gandhi(weknowthat
(we know
(weknowthe boatsinks!)- Bravehearf
Titanic
Gandhigetsassassinated)
What
interested?
Whatkeepsus,the audience,
thatWallaceis captured
andexecuted).
makesus enjoyfilmswherewe knowwhatwillhappenat the end?
VIEWS OF HISTORY
As a typicalHollywoodtilm, ThirteenDayspresentsthe eventsof the CubanMissile
Crisisfromthe historicalpointof viewof the USA.However,historyis not one-sided!
Lookagainat the key eventswhichyou usedearlierto comparewiththe storytold in
ThirteenDays.lf youwereretellingthe storyfromthe pointof viewof the Sovietsor the
in the
Justas we are shownthe eventsunfolding
Cubanshowwouldit be ditferent?
in the Kremlinand in
WhiteHouse,theremusthavebeensimilardramasoccurring
Havana.Whatwouldthe ditferentperspectives
on theseeventsbe in thosetwo places?
Wouldthe storystillbe calledThirteenDays?How,withina filmedversionof the story,
wouldthe dramaticeventsbe shown?lf we talkof heroesas an essentialpartof any
story,howcouldeitherCastroor Khrushchev
be seenin a heroicway?
THE CRISIS
Theeventsthat are shownin the tilm ThirteenDaysrevealjusthowclosethe world
cameto nuclearwar. Keyto the solutionof the Crisiswasthe reactionof JohnF
Fromyourownstudyof the Crisis
Kennedy,his brotherRobertand NikitaKhruschev.
questions:
andyourviewingof thefilm,canyouanswerthefollowing
1. Whydo you thinkthat the SovietUnionwantedto installmissi/esin Cuba?
2. Whatwere the main reasonsfor theAmericansseriouslyconsideringmilitaryactionto
removethe missilesfrom Cuba?
3. Whatwere PresidentKennedy'smain objectionsto hismilitaryadvisers'suggestions
for the three possiblesolutionsto the Crisis?
4. WhywouldAmericanot wishto appear'weak'in the eyesof the worldat this
particularpoint in history?
5. ln whatwaysdid the MissileCrisisrelateto America'sviewof FidelCastroand the
politicalsituationin Cuba?
ThirteenDaysonlyrepresents
the Americanpointof viewof the Crisis.We seethe
andhisbrotherandalsoKenO'Donnell,
Crisisdevelopthroughthe eyesof the president
presidential
presented
How
to us?Howaretheymade
the
aide.
arethesecharacters
to us as members
sympathetic
of a filmaudience?
GlobalHistory12
Name.
The CubanMissileGrisis(ColdWar outcomes/mark)
Evaluation:
2 pointsperanswer.
..114
- THECUBANMlssLEcRlsls,
lnstructions:
Readthesection"lNTRoDUcTloN
1962"onthehand-out
"Film:13 Dayd'and
entitled
answerthefollowing
questions
pertaining
to eachsection
indicated.
1. WhendidtheCubanMissileCrisistakeplace?
2. Whichthreenationsweremostdirectlyinvolved?
and
3. which twoopposingleadersprevented
nuctearwar?Indicatetheir
countriesas well.
of the
and
of the
4. Whydid Khrushev
wantto placenuctearmissilesin Cuba?
5. Whydid FidelCastroagreeto thisstrategy?
Whifeor afterwatchingthe film l3 Days,answerthe followingquestions.
6. Whydid the Americanseriously
considermilitaryaction(warfare)
to removethe
missilesfromCuba?
7' WhywouldAmericanotwishto appearweakin the eyesof theworldat this point
in history?
\*
Section2: The GlobalHistorian(outcomes/mark)
Evaluation:
2 pointsperanswer.
..t8
Instructions:Readthroughthe hand-outentitled"Film:13 Dayd'andanswerthe
pertaining
followingquestions
to eachsectionindicated.
Section:"WHATHAPPENED?,
1. According
to directorRogerDonaldson,
whatmakesthe CubanMissileCrisis
a perfectplotfor a politicalthriller?
2. Whyshouldn'ta Hollywood-style
moviebe considered
a definitive
accountof
history?ReadwhatproducerPeterAlmondsaidandcomeup withyourown
answer.
Section:'VIEWS
OF HISTORY'
3. Fromwhosepointof viewis 13Days?
4. HowmightKhrushev
or Castrobe portrayed
heroically
in a moviefromthe Soviet
or Cubanperspective?