Clarke Costelle - Apocalypse War of Worlds 1945-1991 (2019) Part 3 The World Trembles (1950-1952)

Summer 1945. Leaving the atrocities of war behind, the Allies wholeheartedly celebrate a return to peace. But behind the scenes of global reconstruction, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making. Soon, an “iron curtain” will come down, dividing the Communist Eastern bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union, and the West, behind the United States. This is the Cold War, the War of Worlds. In a frantic arms race, the United States have invented the worst threat possible - the nuclear bomb. During the course of fifty years, the great heads of state, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, and Kennedy, face each other off in a precarious balance of terror. In Indochina, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, they wage war on each other through other peoples. Nonetheless, it is still the same war between East and West. The same leaders, the same terrified civilians, the same regions destroyed by bombs, the same rows of starving prisoners… Beyond those who are in power, all of mankind can, at any time, be plunged into the Apocalypse. The story of this fantastic period of history between 1945 and 1991, which was defined by the confrontation of two worlds and two systems. The capitalist West, dominated by the ever-powerful United States, is pitted against the Communist East, the Soviet Empire. Both sides possess the ultimate weapon, the Nuclear Bomb, which neither can use, at the risk of causing their own peril. This terrifying balance of fear paradoxically ensures a half-century of peace and prosperity in the West. There are many heated moments during this “Cold War”, and Asia is the chosen place for these “localized” wars in which the Superpowers confront each other through other populations engaged in merciless battles. This brought us to make a series that will be as colorful as it is violent, and which will explore the key wars and interludes of peace and progress. If there was a noun that encapsulated the “Cold War” best it's probably “nuclear deterrence”. Both sides of the geopolitical tensions the Eastern Bloc of the collectivist Soviet Union and the Western Bloc of the individualist United States (and their allies) now had at their disposal nuclear weapons. These weapons made these nations immeasurably powerful but conversely rendered both innocuous to one another. The heavy losses of the first and second World Wars still weighed heavily on the minds and hearts of these superpowers, but guaranteed mutual destruction was the strongest factor that prevented each from declaring all-out war. What were the superpowers to do? They can't stand each other yet they can't fight each other, at least directly. Thus, there were the proxy wars battles between the allies of nations that represented East vs West without technically being East vs West. The Cold War was a conflict of intimidation, symbolism, grand-standing and agitation both parties dancing on the edge of war but neither willing to start one. It cost the world millions of lives, but had the nuclear option been used, it would have cost us all our lives. The apocalypse was but a few turning of keys and pushing of buttons away at any moment. No matter how peaceful we are at any given moment the danger of nuclear fallout will always loom over us all.

Written & Directed by Isabelle Clarke, Daniel Costelle ; A Co-Production by CC&C Clarke Costelle & CIE, INA and ECPAD with Participation by France Televisions,RTBF,Planete+,TV5 Quebec and SVT

Part 3 The World Trembles (1950-1952)

September 1950. On the banks at Incheon, 30 miles from Seoul, General MacArthur is victorious. The landing he planned, to rescue his men stuck in Pusan, was a success. But the war isn't over. In the North, the Americans will have to face an unexpected enemy. On the other side of the frozen Yalu river, Mao, covert as always, has stationed 300,000 of his men. On Thanksgiving Day, the Chinese and North Koreans attack the US army, whose only choice is to fall back. Faced with his army's defeat and Chinese intervention, Truman considers the atomic bomb… Further south, in Indochina, the French are also suffering setbacks. An ambush set by the Vietminh on the road Route Coloniale 4 annihilates them. To relieve the situation, the French government sent as a last resort one of its most famous generals Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. French win a victory in Vinh Yen , but suffer heavy losses too. The parallel between Korea and Indochina is striking the same hidden operators, frightened civilians, bomb blasted regions, columns of emaciated prisoners… For De Lattre, it is indeed one and the same war the war for freedom, against communism. And the real enemy is Stalin, who sends North Koreans weapons and MIG-15 planes, and struts in front of his people with a super bomber capable of carrying his brand new atomic bomb. Will Stalin conquer the world?

Full Version Available Upon Request