Bridge of Spies (2015)

Rating: 10/10 (25 October 2015)

BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015) On May 1, 1960, at the height of the USA-USSR post WWII tensions, aka the "Cold War," a CIA spy plane piloted by American Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over the Soviet Union causing Soviet Premier Khrushchev to cancel proposed negotiations with President Eisenhower. The pilot was captured and held as a bargaining chip. Previously, Attorney James Donovan, played by Tom Hanks, had represented a captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in his trial and conviction. This historical sequence of events provides the story line for this fine film.
Through political connections Donovan is pressed into duty by the CIA to negotiate as a private citizen, the release of Powers, who the CIA desperately wanted back, in exchange for the convicted spy, Rudolf Abel, who the Soviets desperately wanted back. Mr. Hanks completely nails the part and sells the character as a methodical and brilliant negotiator. Donovan thus begins the process that takes him across the Berlin Wall and into East Berlin and infinite danger. Along the way he successfully negotiates with no less than five different parties by deftly playing one against the other to achieve his goal: a two-for-one prisoner exchange, while infuriating the US side by including a hapless US graduate student who got caught on the wrong side of the Wall.
Donovan knew his ace-in-the-hole was his status as a "private citizen," and not as a US government representative. What could have been a disadvantage, he turned into his advantage while making the plot quite thrilling for a movie that seemed to be dark and cold in every scene.
Hats off to Steven Spielberg for tackling this great story from the Cold War without changing the material facts of the incident. The viewer is taken on a road trip behind the "Iron Curtain" and into the dark and paranoid times of the Cold War.
One film can only touch briefly on such a broad topic, but Spielberg manages to present East German – Soviet friction, the shameless manipulation of US public opinion by the CIA and US press which was even directed at our children, the honest-to-God fear within the US of nuclear annihilation as well as the general confusion on both sides. Donovan's dilemma is universal and so very relevant today. If our American experiment of democratic representative government is based on laws, the choice gets down to either follow the laws, change the laws in a civil, objective and reasonable environment (Government) or disregard the laws and revert back to the caves. In representing a Soviet spy, Donovan shows the legal system to be based on such basic factors as human dignity, honor and respect for self and others. Donovan and Abel eventually form a personal relationship beyond attorney-client where each character exposes the lunacy of their respective sides. Abel was completely unflappable, even if facing imminent death. Donovan finally asked Abel, "Does anything ever get you angry?" Abel's reply came back, "Would it make a difference?"
Donovan's defiance of all parties involved and his dogged determination to complete this transaction made the difference. Keeping the spirit of our democratic values and the Constitution is the message here. This is a powerful and inspirational film, produced and written with meticulous attention to detail. Highly recommended.