Thirteen Days (2000)

This brilliantly crafted docudrama about the 1962 Cuban missile crisis dramatizes the behind-the-scenes machinations of that moment in history when the human race came close to blowing itself up. Director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out) presents Soviet Cold War actions as a genuine threat to American survival and celebrates our leaders for standing up to the enemy. He skillfully uses a suspense format to achieve the almost impossible — an emotionally involving story about middle-aged white guys in suits arguing about diplomacy and military options.

The crisis begins on Oct. 16, 1962, when a U.S. spy plane photographs medium-range ballistic missiles recently smuggled into Cuba, a Soviet satellite state. The weapons are soon expected to be operational.

Thirteen Days is told from the point of view of a bit player — presidential appointments secretary Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner), who's a practicing Catholic. President Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and his brother Bobby (Steven Culp) are shown exercising prudent judgment by forcing the Soviets to withdraw their missiles without going to war.

Across the Great Divide (1976)

Holly (Heather Rattray) and Jason Smith (Michael Edward Hall) are young orphans crossing the Rocky Mountains to Oregon in 1876 to claim a 400-acre farm they've inherited. One of their horses is stolen by Zachariah Coop (Robert Logan), a card shark on the run. The resourceful Smiths chase the outlaw and take their animal back. But they decide to team up with him because each party has something the other can use. Zachariah understands the treacherous landscape over which the brother and sister must travel, and their horse provides the card shark with a means of escaping from his pursuers.

Writer-director Stewart Raffill (Wilderness Family) subjects this mismatched trio to a series of terrifying adventures.

He confronts them with bears, cougars, mountain lions, a snow storm and a band of fierce-looking Native Americans. The trek's dangers force the outlaw and the orphans to become dependent on each other.

The rugged plains and mountains provide a picturesque backdrop. Both children and adults will find this wholesome story captivating.