Bridge of Spies (2015, dir. Steven Spielberg)

Steven Spielberg's latest won't change your life, outlook, or play with your emotions the same way that some of his previous work arguably has.  It is a decent film and has its admirable qualities but it certainly is not in the category of the blockbuster or emotional powerhouse that you might expect from the maker of "Schindler's List", "E.T." and "Jaws".  What Spielberg does do is create a fully realized, compelling vision of the Cold War-era, late 1950's where the threat of nuclear annihilation was building to a high in the United States and espionage both at home and abroad was becoming a familiar household term.

Tom Hanks stars as Jim Donovan, an American lawyer who is enlisted by the CIA to negotiate a swap between an alleged Soviet spy caught in the U.S. and an American soldier captured in the Soviet Union.

The film consists of a lot of wheeling and dealing over the exchange of prisoners, all taking place in Germany at the time of the raising of the Berlin Wall.  The period detail is mesmerizing and accurate.  The cold, barren cinematography and atmosphere in this region makes tangible the political situation in Germany at the time and makes the cold that Donovan develops when his overcoat is stolen believable.

Spielberg is not content to paint a one-dimensional, evil portrait of the Soviet and German characters.  Instead, he creates people, Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance) for example, as complex, admirable individuals who are caught up in the machinations of Cold War politics but strive to maintain a sense of dignity and valour. 

I was impressed with all the performances in "Bridge of Spies", particularly the two leads, Rylance and Hanks.  Their characters are sympathetic and multi-faceted and the actors embody them boldly and with finesse. 

This is a worthy addition to the Spielberg canon and is a riveting portrait of a chaotic time in our culture.