'It doesn't matter what others think. You know what you did.'

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2016)

The setting for this based on a true story film is the 10950s – that tense period when in America children were put through classroom drills in case of an expected (or rather, feared) nuclear attack form Russia. Most people had bomb shelters stocked with supplies for the propaganda response that the Cold War ruled everyone's thinking. Remember those days? If not then this film will most assuredly force you to stare at the anxiety that ruled the politics and the military and the populace during that awful time.
Steven Spielberg directs a script created by the Coen Brothers and Matt Charman and has engaged a splendid cast that offers many insights into the thinking of that period. The story (for those who are shaky on facts and dates) is as follows: 'In the cold war, an insurance lawyer, James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks), who hasn't practiced criminal law since he was a prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials after World War II, is recruited by the CIA and involved in an intense negotiation mission to release and exchange a CIA U-2 spy-plane pilot, Francis G. Powers (Austin Stowell) who was arrested alive after his plane was shot down by the Soviet Union during a mission- with a KGB intelligence officer, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) who was arrested for espionage in the US. The strong anti- Communist mood at the time makes him a target from those (the general populace) who think Abel should just be executed. Abel is convicted but Donovan convinces the judge to sentence him to prison, rather than execute him, as they may at some point in the future want to swap him for an American spy the Soviets might have in custody. And of course Donovan's theory works, emphasizing the humanity that can resist fear of the unknown in the time of Cold War.
The cast is uniformly excellent with special kudos to Alan Alda, Sebastian Koch, Amy Ryan and of course Hanks and Rylance. Superb script, well re-enactment of an ugly part of our history, and some fine nuances about faith in the democratic system make this one of the finest films of the year.