U-2 with fictitious NASA markings to support CIA cover story for pilot Gary Powers, shot down over Soviet Union. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The movie Bridge of Spies, about lawyer turned negotiator James B. Donovan, and three prisoners during the Cold War is a movie not to miss.
The movie tells of how James Donovan is hired to defend Rudolf Abel on a charge of working as a Soviet spy. As the case moves through trial and up to the Supreme Court, an American spy plane is shot down over the USSR, and an American student is arrested by the East German Government while trying to escape East Berlin while the Berlin Wall is completed.
In the end, it is up to James Donovan to negotiate the exchange of Rudolf Abel and American pilot Francis Gary Powers, officially without the consent of the American Government. He ends up negotiating the release of both Powers and student Frederic Pryor in exchange for Abel.
The movie starts Tom Hanks as James Donovan, Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, Austin Stowell as Francis Gary Powers, Will Rogers as Frederic Pryor, Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, and Amy Ryan as Mary McKenna Donovan. The movie is directed (and co-produced) by Steven Spielberg.
The movie is moving from beginning to end. The two hours and twenty-two minutes flew by in no time at all. It was captivating and showed how stressful the height of the Cold War really was – and how close the world came, on this occasion and others, to a full blown nuclear war.
We also see just how difficult diplomacy can be, especially under the threat of war that existed at the time.
Do not be surprised if the movie receives several Academy Award nominations, if not wins.
If you get the chance, get out and see Bridge of Spies. It’s certainly worth five stars!
Edward Brain's Blog 