Bridge of Spies--Channeling the Cold War

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2016)

The second collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Joel and Ethan Coen, who co- wrote the script with Matt Charman, "Bridge of Spies" lands a place in my "Top 10 Films of 2015" list.
In this historical drama, "Bridge of Spies" takes place during the heat of the Cold War— 1957--Tom Hanks stars as the American attorney, James Donovan, who is asked to defend Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (the formidable Mark Rylance) and later to negotiate the exchange of the downed US pilot Gary Powers for Abel.
The story is ripped from the headlines of fifty-nine years ago, Donovan, despite massive public disapproval, CIA obfuscation, and threats against his family, refuses to ignore Abel's constitutional rights for a fair trial. Donovan's wife, Mary (Amy Ryan) meets eyes with her embattled husband and, in that look, Donovan understands the high stakes in taking the moral position to which he tenaciously holds on. It's startling when it happens. Fight for justice or for the safety of one's own family? Read the entire review at: www.unhealedwound.com