One good thing good about Tom Hanks in a movie its always very good and entertaining. In my eyes, he is the modern day movie Jimmy Stewart, always a good stand up American, who wins the day.
This movie is loosely based on the book "Bridge of Spies''.
Here is the VERY short version:
The setting is the cold war era of 1957-1962, kids in school are shown "duck and cover" movies and how to survive the bomb.
Russian spy Rudolph Abel (real name Willie Fisher, entire true-life story at wikipedia) is picked up in Brooklyn, charged with espionage.
Abel refuses to cooperate with the CIA and divulges nothing.
To insure a fair trial for the whole world to see, he is represented by Jimmy Donovan, Tom Hanks.
Tom is a very high profile NYC insurance negotiator who reluctantly accepts the case, he had served as council during the Nuremburg trials.
Donovan is basically told the trial is basically for world show, and Abel would be sentenced to death.
Abel is convicted, and Donovan convinces the judge to stay execution and incarcerate Abel "in case" the USA needs a Soviet trade prisoner in the future, a very un-popular courtroom outcome.
Shortly afterwards, Gary Powers is shot down on his first U-2 flight over Russia at 70,000 feet. (Very cool scene of the plummeting spy plane with Powers trying desperately to activate the self destruct mechanism.)
The secretary of state "Dulles" asks Donovan to orchestrate a trade on a very low diplomatic level.
At this very time in Eastern Europe, the Berlin wall is going up.
It is a very unstable time and East Germany wants its own recognition as a power.
Donovan in Berlin, as part of the deal, also demands the release of an American student picked up for "spying" in East Germany.
Donovan has to orchestrate a very delicate trade with both Moscow and the brand new DDR (East Germany).
Ending is predictable, as in most movies, its the journey and the story that matter.
Excellent historic movie, great period piece down to the family eating frozen TV dinners in front of the boxy console B+W tv at the end.
I was 11 when the U-2 was shot down, and remember my parents intently watching the news...it was very, very tense times with Russia also having the "bomb."
With the "Cuban Missile Crisis", "Bay of Pigs", "U-2 crisis" all happening at this time, looking back, its amazing war was averted.
As history tells, "we were eyeball to eyeball with Russia, and they blinked"
Jimmy Donovan, according to the closing credits, was called upon by JFK to negotiate the release of most of the "Bay of Pigs" captives.
This movie is loosely based on the book "Bridge of Spies''.
Here is the VERY short version:
The setting is the cold war era of 1957-1962, kids in school are shown "duck and cover" movies and how to survive the bomb.
Russian spy Rudolph Abel (real name Willie Fisher, entire true-life story at wikipedia) is picked up in Brooklyn, charged with espionage.
Abel refuses to cooperate with the CIA and divulges nothing.
To insure a fair trial for the whole world to see, he is represented by Jimmy Donovan, Tom Hanks.
Tom is a very high profile NYC insurance negotiator who reluctantly accepts the case, he had served as council during the Nuremburg trials.
Donovan is basically told the trial is basically for world show, and Abel would be sentenced to death.
Abel is convicted, and Donovan convinces the judge to stay execution and incarcerate Abel "in case" the USA needs a Soviet trade prisoner in the future, a very un-popular courtroom outcome.
Shortly afterwards, Gary Powers is shot down on his first U-2 flight over Russia at 70,000 feet. (Very cool scene of the plummeting spy plane with Powers trying desperately to activate the self destruct mechanism.)
The secretary of state "Dulles" asks Donovan to orchestrate a trade on a very low diplomatic level.
At this very time in Eastern Europe, the Berlin wall is going up.
It is a very unstable time and East Germany wants its own recognition as a power.
Donovan in Berlin, as part of the deal, also demands the release of an American student picked up for "spying" in East Germany.
Donovan has to orchestrate a very delicate trade with both Moscow and the brand new DDR (East Germany).
Ending is predictable, as in most movies, its the journey and the story that matter.
Excellent historic movie, great period piece down to the family eating frozen TV dinners in front of the boxy console B+W tv at the end.
I was 11 when the U-2 was shot down, and remember my parents intently watching the news...it was very, very tense times with Russia also having the "bomb."
With the "Cuban Missile Crisis", "Bay of Pigs", "U-2 crisis" all happening at this time, looking back, its amazing war was averted.
As history tells, "we were eyeball to eyeball with Russia, and they blinked"
Jimmy Donovan, according to the closing credits, was called upon by JFK to negotiate the release of most of the "Bay of Pigs" captives.
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