Spielberg dish, seasoned with Coen spices

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2015)

Who would ever have thought that the Coen Brothers would co-write a film directed by Steven Spielberg? At first sight, it seems a very improbable combination. On the one hand the traditional Hollywood giant of blockbuster fame, and on the other hand the unruly creators of weird characters and unorthodox stories.
This could have been a disaster: a terrible clash of two styles of film making. But in fact, it is a wonderful cooperation. The film is mostly made according to the standard Spielberg recipe of big drama, but seasoned with some very tasteful spices of Coen-like creativity and dry humour.
I think I recognized some very clear Coen-moments in the film. At one point the hero of the story, American lawyer James Donovan, walks into the Russian embassy in Berlin hoping to meet an official called Mr Vogel, but instead is greeted by a bunch of rumpled peasants. This is, I think, typical for the Coen Brothers. One other very recognizable Coen-moment is Donovan's visit to the East German prosecutor, who picks up the wrong phone. This whole scene is filmed in the slightly surrealistic way that characterizes many Coen-films
'Bridge of Spies' is a cold war drama. It tells the true story of a righteous American lawyer who defends a Russian spy, learns to appreciate his professionalism and subsequently is asked to negotiate an exchange of prisoners in Berlin. The screenplay is very clever, with three spy stories woven into one narrative: the Russian spy in the US, an American pilot who is captured by the Russians after his plane is shot down, and an American student who happens to be in the wrong part of Berlin when the Wall is built.
Sometimes Spielberg accentuates the dramatic effects a bit too much, for example when the student tries to leave the Eastern section of Berlin and sees how the last peace of concrete closes the Wall between him and the West. But on the whole this film is cinematographic craftsmanship at its very best. The screenplay keeps on introducing new, exciting story elements, the sober but effective acting by Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance is spot on, and the period sets recreate the Cold War era perfectly. It is hard not to like this film.