Thirteen Days

Thirteen Days is a sober and faithful rendering of 13 crucial days during the Cuba Missile Crisis in October 1962 when the world was on the brink of world war. The film reconstructs the events based on the tapes that registered President Kennedy's meetings in the White House.

The documentary effect is hightened because director Roger Donaldson and screenwriter David Self are more concerned with the political game than the humans involved. President Kennedy's personal adviser Kenny O'Donnell is the closest we get to a main character that we can identify with. He is both an active participant and a fly on the wall, the one whose eyes we watch the drama through.

It is quite a feat that the filmmakers have succeeded in making such a suspenseful thriller considering that the audience already know the outcome.