Bridge Of Spies

I love cinema magic, and as long as i can remember from my childhood, i loved to see movies, that made me feel happy. And if there was one director who knew how to deliver magic, you could count on Steven Spielberg. Just think about all the classics he have given us, Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T, Indiana Jones, Hook, Jurassic Park, the list is long. Of course he also have given us more serious films, such as Schindler´s List, that is in my opinion one of the most important film of the 90´s. Even until today, many film critics still talk about Schindler´s List as one of the films, everyone should see. And there is a reason for that. What happened during World War 2, when Oskar Schindler, saved more than thousands of Polish-Jewish refugees. One film that i know not many people have seen, that seems to have become forgotten, is Amistad. It may not be one of Spielberg´s greatest films, but the historical value of this film, taking place in the slavery times of 1840, is still important. If you have not seen it, i suggest you do, especially because of the great cast that includes a lot of known faces. As the millenium kicked in, Spielberg decided to go in a complete different direction, giving us 2 really good sci fi action films, Minority Report and War Of The Worlds, both starring Tom Cruise. If you love science fiction and action combined, these two films is something you have to see. Spielberg kept on working on different film projects, and i know he is directing more films, ready to be released in 2017. Tom Hanks, we all know know him from the 80´s classics ? Of course, who have not seen Big, Turner & Hooch, The Burbs, and many other classics. I personally feel that Tom became a complete different actor when he gave a splendid performance in the very emotional film Philadelphia, from 1993. The story about a lawyer, who is fired from a law firm, because he is a homosexual and have HIV, is actually based on a true case. Clarance B. Cain sued Hyatt Legal Services for AIDS discrimination, and he won before he died. This film is still today very important, because i have always supported my lesbian sister, and everyone around her who are homosexual. If you have not seen Philadelphia yet, you have to rent it. It is a very important issue. Tom Hanks continued to deliver solid performances with Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Cast Away, and let us not forget Road To Perdition ( one of my personal favourite films with Tom Hanks ). Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have worked together on several films, and here we have a new film called Bridge Of Spies, their latest collaboration. I always enjoy seeing them work on something together, simply because they are both very professional in the film industry. So, when i finally got a chance to see their latest work, i ran off to the local cinema, hoping i would be pleased. Is this latest film from Spielberg still magical, as many other of his films, or is the magic lost on the way ?

In the year of 1957, New York City, a man named Rudolf Abel ( Mark Rylance ) retrieves a secret message from a park bench. He reads it, before the FBI burst into his rented room. He prevents the message from being seen, but is arrested because of other evidence found in his room. He is arrested for suspicion of beeing a Sovjet spy. James B. Donovan ( Tom Hanks ), a respected lawyer, is asked to take on Abel´s defense. The United States belive that Abel is a KGB spy, but want him to have a fair trial to reduce Sovjet Union´s opportunity to use it for propaganda. James visit Abel in prison, where the Sovjet agree to accept his help. Abel refuse to cooperate with the US government, or to give any revelations of the intelligence world. James know that the odds of him getting Abel free is most likely not possible, but he intends to do the best he can. But the american people do not appreciate that James is the lawyer of Abel, as he recive death threats, as well as hate mail. James is not giving up on his client, even how hard the situation is. As the day comes, where Abel will find out in court his verdict, he is found guilty on all charges, but James convince the judge to sentence Abel to 30 years of imprisonment. Information comes out, that pilot Francis Gary Powers ( Austin Stowell ) have been shot down over the Sovjet Union, and is taken as an prisoner. Since the americans have Abel in prison, there is talk about making an exchange, that they will have Abel, if they release Francis. But the question is, will they agree on this, or will Francis be kept as an prisoner ?

There is no doubt that Bridge Of Spies tell us a very important story, that happened during the 1960 U-2 incident. Since we have seen Steven Spielberg take on historical events before in his career, we know that he knows how to make stories come to life. The cast is really good, especially Tom Hanks in the lead role. His presence as James B. Donovan feels correct, and he have no problem in making his interpretation of this american legend. One of the things i feel that Steven Spielberg is good at, is capturing the look of the 60´s. The costume design looks good, and the cinematographyby Janusz Kaminski looks great. He have worked with Spielberg before on cinematography on both Schindler´s List and Saving Private Ryan, so he is the right choice for a film like this. When it comes to the story itself, you have a lot of details here, both about all the important personalities that were involved, but also what happened during this period. The length of this film is over 2 hours and 20 minutes, and that is one of the problems i have with Bridge Of Spies. It feels much longer, because there is a lot of dialogue, where you need to be focused to understand the history behind the 1960 U-2 incident. The acting is great, so i have no issues with the performances, it is the length of the film that becomes an issue. I have seen films that are 3 hours long that feels both interesting all along, and you never get tired. Bridge Of Spies is an interesting film, from an historical perspective, but it feels slow. Thankfully, Tom Hanks is very professional, and manage to keep us focused, especially when he becomes very serious. Over the last 20 years, i feel that he is still delivering quality performances, on a complete different level since the 80´s. So there is no doubt that it was a good choice to cast him as James B. Donovan. Would i have liked to see a more personal view on James as an person ? Yes, but you also get a sence of who he was, and how his view were at this time of his life. Steven Spielberg knows how to tell stories, and he still proves that with Bridge Of Spies. This is a well made film, with a very important story to be told. If you enjoy films based on true historical events, i recommend you watch Bridge Of Spies. Especially a younger generation, that may not know much about history. The future is important, but what happened in the past must be remembered. I suggest you head down to a library and read some history books, knowledge is the key to many opportunities in life.

Rating: DDD