Merit Coba

“Nothing can ruin the carefree  mood of a  football game so much as an  imminent nuclear holocaust.” Henry folded his hands behind his head and stretched his body as to make full use of the couch.

“Blimey, we actually saw a movie that was on the good side of the average divide…”  Kristl said and she handed Henry a beer. She had walked into the kitchen that was at the end on the adjoining corridor of their garage-turned-movie-theater.

“Beer…?  Blimey..? A positive mood? What has gotten into you?” Henry quickly secured the offered beer before something sudden would happen, like a nuclear war or a mood swing.  You never knew when Kristls mood would  take another turn.  Women, so Henry thought,  were highly unpredictable.. especially to men..

” I really liked the movie. It was a good political thriller. Strange actually, considering that I knew what was going to happen: it still had me on the edge.  I  liked it  that they never showed what the other people were thinking or doing: the Soviets, the Cubans, even their own people: the US military. And although I had to get adjust for a moment, it was a good thing that  Kevin Costner did not play the president but his adviser.  It sort of made it more human.  “

“Yeah,  funny… Our military was as much to be trusted as not. I can imagine that some people will not like this image of some military dudes gung ho-ing for a nuclear war.  Perhaps somewhat unfair too? The russians were the bad guys, no?” Henry mused. He savored his beer.

“Soviets. Not Russians. Let’s call them Soviets.  And the answer: maybe.. maybe.. at least they were unknown baddies.. That makes the movie unnerving. You have no idea what they are thinking. Just like the president and his staff must have been experiencing. What are they up to? How far will they go?”

“And what if they don’t stop?”

“Yeah. How did you like the intro.. how it flows from the introduction into the movie.  Other than that the movie was not a cinematographic high movie. Not spectacular shots. But well played and well written.” Kristl added.

“I actually was amazed myself that I liked it.. I mean,…” Henry made a vague gesture.. spilling some beer.

“No damsels in tight suits shooting up legions of evil guys?” Kristl smiled.

“Yeah.,, no action.. yet  the movie scares the shit out of you.  They were so hovering on the brink of a nuclear war. If the Russians had not given in..  If they had not turned those ships around..” Henry made a sudden gesture with his hands making him spill beer all around, “BOOM!”

“That is true.. but than we never know if president Kennedy would have backed down himself. Or that they would have ignored the ships being there. This is of course another thing. That this issue got to be a big issue was because the US made it into a one. They were prepared to go to war over nuclear missiles stationed on Cuba not because it meant that the US could  now be nuked -the Soviets could do that already- but because the US could be nuked far quicker then before.  Not hours.. but minutes. It sort of evened the score in their opinion  because that same threat hung over the heads over everyone else. It sort of give you pause to think why this thing was played up. Why was Kennedy prepared to let it get this far?”

“Well.  In the end the Russians backed down.. so the US won.” Henry said.

Or

“Won?”  Kristls face became thoughtful, “Won. Maybe. But at that point in time I wonder.. was it really necessary to drag the world towards a nuclear war over some missiles placed on Cuba? I mean really.. the Soviets could already nuke the US back into the stone age so placing missiles on Cuba was not actually changing the balance in the world by much. Maybe it was more to save the presidents prestige than anything else. Which makes you wonder… and scared. “

“Let’s not fret over things that are in the past. We are talking about a movie, not about some political historical discussion. I liked the movie even if there was not one action scene in it.”

“Uhmm. Touchy subject no?”

“Let us just say that it ended in a positive mood. Red lost…”

“And blue won?”

“Right.”

“Only not sure who was red and who was blue.”  Kristl said to herself.