Bridge of Spies

Finally got around to watching Bridge of Spies. I enjoyed it. The movie takes place in the late 1950's and early 1960's and revolves around the true events of the capture and spy exchange of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. 

Tom Hanks plays James Donovan, the lawyer who defended Abel and negotiated the exchange. If you want to know all the details, watch the movie. It received six Academy Award nominations and Mark Rylance (Rudolph Abel) won the Oscar for best supporting actor. Steven Spielberg produced and directed the movie.

The movie is very well acted and well done. It captures the look and feel of the 50's both here in the United States and in what was then still Soviet East Germany. 

The movie shows us how paranoia can take hold and effect an entire nation. We were so scared of the USSR during this period of the Cold War that we were willing to compromise our laws and ideals. Our government knew best. Anything was fair game if it was against Russia and made us feel a little safer. The judge, lawyers, FBI, CIA and the public were all willing to ignore our Constitution and laws to convict Abel of spying. It is worth noting how easily we are willing to surrender our rights for even a false sense of security. It seems an appropriate lesson for these times. Give it a watch for a little history refresher and some entertainment. 

The movie is a little long at almost 2½ hours. It is playing this month on Showtime and available at Redbox so there should be plenty of opportunities to catch this movie if you missed it in the theaters or just want to see it again. 

The movie is a little long at almost 2½ hours. It is well worth the time though and gets a solid A from me. 

wjh