The Brink of War (2026)
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During the Cold War, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union meet in Iceland to navigate the perilous path of nuclear disarmament.
The story
Set in 1986 during the Cold War, the film depicts the high-stakes Reykjavík Summit between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders meet in Iceland to address escalating geopolitical tensions and the threat of nuclear proliferation. While Reagan seeks to discuss arms control and human rights, Gorbachev aims to resolve the nuclear stalemate to facilitate domestic reforms. The narrative follows their tense negotiations as they navigate conflicting interests, personal pressures, and the looming threat of nuclear war, ultimately attempting to find a path toward peace in a divided world.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet at the Höfði site in Iceland. Gorbachev surprises Reagan by proposing immediate arms reductions. They debate the ABM Treaty and the removal of IRBMs from Europe, but struggle to find common ground on nuclear posturing in the Pacific. Outside the main talks, their wives, Nancy and Raisa, navigate their own experiences in Iceland. The negotiations involve key advisors like George Shultz and Eduard Shevardnadze. Tensions peak over human rights and the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). While Reagan initially refuses to discuss SDI, he eventually offers a compromise on its testing. The summit ends in a deadlock, but Shultz realizes Reagan's true goal was the end of the Soviet Union. The film concludes with a fourth-wall-breaking moment where Shultz explains how the summit paved the way for the 1987 INF Treaty and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
- First release year
- 2026
- Runtime (minutes)
- 117
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Russell Gunn
- Writers
- Michael Russell Gunn · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jeff Daniels · Ronald Reagan; Jared Harris · Mikhail Gorbachev; J. K. Simmons · George Shultz; Hope Davis · Nancy Reagan; Branka Katić · Raisa Gorbacheva; Tim Dutton · Eduard Shevardnadze
- Genres
- historical drama; political drama
- Themes
- nuclear disarmament; Cold War diplomacy; human rights; geopolitical tension
- Tone and mood
- tense; historical
- Premise and plot tags
- political drama; historical drama; biographical fiction; nuclear war
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on the actual events of the 1986 Reykjavík Summit.
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Production trivia
- The film was the directorial debut of Michael Russell Gunn.; The majority of the film was shot at Höfði, the actual site of the 1986 summit.; The director interviewed former Secretary of State George Shultz before his death.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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