Not many people are aware of this, but the Cuban Missile Crisis is a chapter of contemporary history that could have ended very differently, wiping out millions of lives. Onboard a Soviet submarine, a senior officer refuses to obey an order from his captain, saving the world from nuclear disaster. One moment of uncertainty among a small ground of people that determined the fate of millions. What rules dictate the behaviour of these men when the fate of the world is in their hands? Are we still threatened by the human factor and its unpredictable consequences? These questions are exactly what the film The Human Factor sets out to answer through interviews with Russian, Canadian, American and French submariners.
