Bridge of Spies (2015)

Based on the Gary Powers Incident

(1 July 2016)

As it states in the opening, "...this was inspired by true events..." and it seems to have been very faithful to those real events. I even went to Wiki to double check both the 1950's Powers incident and the involvement of the main character. They were all accurate.

The video itself was made as a period piece with great attention to detail - right down to the license plates. One unique idiosyncrasy of the time was the male fascination for hats. Almost all were of the same size and style. Too bad it has faded from popularity.

I'm not going to provide a "spoiler" review, but the Cohen brothers, as directors, did another great job. This production exploits three events (and characters) and presents their separate lives that ultimately congeal all within the last tense minutes. The attorney (Hanks) becomes a master of spin turning a 1 for 1 into a 2 for 1 exchange, much to the consternation of the USSR and East Germany. Keep in mind this was the late 1950's - Khrushchev, the bomb, fallout shelters, and "the Wall." Fortunately, the film is not excessively red, white, and blue, but it does have its moments, all the while bringing a little-known event to life.

Four stars for originality, detail, directing, and acting. Definitely check it out if you like suspense / period / biographical movies.

~dbg~