BRIDGE OF SPIES(2015)

During the most tense years of the cold war, James B. Donovan(Tom Hanks), an American lawyer is recruited by CIA to negotiate on part of the US to bring back an American pilot, Francis Powers (Austin Stowell) shot down taking surveillance pictures over Russia and incarcerated for his crimes of treason. The idea is to get him back in exchange for a Russian spy called Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) who has been tried and subsequently punished for his crimes in the US. At the same time, Frederic Pryor, an American economics student, visits his German girlfriend in East Berlin just as the Berlin Wall is being built. He tries to bring her back into West Berlin, but is stopped by Stasi agents and arrested as a spy. Donovan, whose priority is to bring back Powers in exchange for Abel, now has his eye set on bringing back two people in exchange for one.

Previously, Donovan is asked by his firm to take up the case of Abel when he is arrested by officials for acts of espionage. Reluctant at first, he agrees to take up the case. He tries his best to get an acquittal for Abel. His efforts are met with disdain from the US government, people and even Donovan’s own family who look at his as one conspiring to save a spy. He is flooded with hate mails and is even attacked. But he continues what he is doing and is able to save Abel from hanging.

There is a scene towards the beginning of the film when after taking the case of Abel, Donovan is traveling in a train. As he is seated, he watches a crowd of others commuters reading in the papers about him and then looking back at him with deep hatred. The same scene is repeated in the end but with very a different set of emotions. The story unfolds in two tracks initially. We see the court case involving Abel and his subsequent incarceration by the jury who take his acts of espionage worthy of a life sentence. While that track is unfolding, at the same time frame, the CIA recruits a team of pilots to carry out their own espionage operations over Russia. These two tracks unfolding simultaneously give us an almost sarcastic take on the whole subject matter.

Bridge Of Spies is filled with numerous such beautifully envisioned and masterfully executed scenes which truly go on to shape this drama which in a lesser hand might not have been the picture that it is. It has to be accepted that the film doesn’t have a narrative which is thrilling or for that matter as engrossing as Spielberg’s previous films like Munich. The story is straightforward and inspite of its political overtones, it remains very much a human drama. The first half is spent trying to show the duplicity of the law enforcement system. Donovan is repeatedly thrown off the track when he tries to seriously defend Abel. The people and the government seem adamant to incarcerate the man and Donovan is reduced to a patsy. However he makes his presence felt. He is able to save the man’s life as he makes others believe that he could be used later as a bargaining chip.

The second half shows the government’s total lack of interest in saving an innocent student when they make it clear that getting Powers back is everything and that’s enough for them. Now Powers is someone that everybody hates for falling into Russian hands. As Donovan tries to get back Pryor, going out of his way, the CIA caution him. He does his heart’s will and thankfully it all works out. But the government’s total lack of empathy for Pryor comes as a shock. In the climax, the Russian agent shows a unique gesture to Donovan that was not expected of a prisoner who has seen a way of returning home. He waits until both the exchanges are complete before making his way to the other side. He also leaves a gift for the man who tried to defend him going against his whole nation.

Tom Hanks is majestic in this film. I guess this film rekindles the camaraderie that Spielberg shares with him from films like Saving Private Ryan, the Terminal and Catch Me If You Can. The man seems to be enjoying his role to the hilt and his contagious energy rubs on to the other cast members as visibly they up their games in the scenes that they share with him. Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel is another astounding performer. The scenes that he shares with Hanks in the beginning and in the climax is alone worth the price of admission.

The film recreates the cold war era beautifully. The authenticity and the beauty of the visuals are spellbinding. The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski, a long time Spielberg collaborator, is sensational. The way he recreates the era in its organic vitality has to be seen to believe. I have seen this film twice already and I can safely say that the second time was primarily to soak my visual senses in the richly textured compositions of Kaminski. The editing compliments the visuals and the background score elevates the mood wherever necessary. The visual effects are used to recreate the era and like most Spielberg films, they remain invisible when you are watching the film.

Bridge Of Spies is one of those Spielberg films that you simply cannot miss. Superbly acted, wonderfully written and beautifully shot. It’s a picture of beauty beyond compare. One of the best Spielberg films of recent times.