Bridge of Spies (Steven Spielberg)

[TGM]

BRIDGE OF SPIES

Director: Steven Spielberg

imdb

[Mysterious Dude]

Those kids should have been at least four years older in the end.

[Mal]

CORNY SHIT but its so enjoyable. Damn you Spielberg.

[Grouchy]

It's a classy film, but dammit, does it wave the flag around. The paternalistic attitude of Donovan towards everyone in Germany or Russia, those yuxtaposed scenes of the POWs being waken up... It became too much for me to bear. And yeah, it is corny.

Still, there's no denying the excellent craftmanship on display here. I was looking here and there for signature Coen Brothers dialogue and couldn't find it, except maybe the constant "would it help?".

[Philip J. Fry]

It's a classy film, but dammit, does it wave the flag around. The paternalistic attitude of Donovan towards everyone in Germany or Russia, those yuxtaposed scenes of the POWs being waken up... It became too much for me to bear. And yeah, it is corny.

Still, there's no denying the excellent craftmanship on display here. I was looking here and there for signature Coen Brothers dialogue and couldn't find it, except maybe the constant "would it help?".

The first Tom Hanks scene ("My guy") was very Coenesque.

[Spinal]

This wasn't super high on my to-see list, so I was thoroughly surprised by how much I loved it. I think it's probably Spielberg's best movie since Schindler's List, but mostly because of a script that is simultaneously old-fashioned and timely. It's as if the central role was written for Jimmy Stewart, with the knowledge that Tom Hanks was actually still alive and the next best thing. It's refreshing to see a protagonist in the mold of Atticus Finch, a man whose strength resides in the conviction of his principles. In an age of personal causes and politics fueled by individual identities, it's encouraging to see a film argue that together we have to stand for something tangible if the nation is to flourish and survive. Naturally, that national set of values should be inclusive, but as beautifully demonstrated by the film's climax, it is vital to know who you are in crisis situations if you wish to act with integrity.

[ledfloyd]

The Stewart thing totally makes sense, because this feels a lot like an Otto Preminger film.

[Spinal]

It's a classy film, but dammit, does it wave the flag around.

I don't agree with this. It is actually quite critical of the way the American government typically conducts business. It encourages Americans to act on principles of fairness and integrity, rather than blindly wave the flag.

[Grouchy]

I don't agree with this. It is actually quite critical of the way the American government typically conducts business. It encourages Americans to act on principles of fairness and integrity, rather than blindly wave the flag.

Well, it's not like it's Armaggedon or Red Dawn. It's a smarter film. But I find it hard to overlook that it paints Donovan as someone who has no experience whatsoever being a spy yet can run circles around the Russians who seem stuck on a bizarre and archaic form of bureaucracy. Plus there's a scene that exists solely to remind us that Americans treated POWs like gentlemen.

[Spinal]

Plus there's a scene that exists solely to remind us that Americans treated POWs like gentlemen.

Sure, but there's also the contrasting trial scenes showing the Americans in attendance acting disgracefully and calling for the Russian spy's execution, while the verdict in Russia is met simply with applause.

[Qrazy]

At this stage Spielberg has embraced the fact that people are basically shit to each other but under some political establishments more shit than under others.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked this!

Didn't love it, thought Kaminski's photography was a little overblown (literally) at times (and if there was a meaning to the anamorphic distortion in many of the shots, I didn't catch it), and prior comments about it being comparatively low-stakes are fair, but I dug the sincerity of Hanks' character, the understated relationship he shared with Rylance, and the politics of the whole thing. The camera movement itself is pretty excellent. I was surprised that the film more or less skipped the trial of Rylance's character, but I didn't mind. Given the lack of breaks given to the defense, it was a foregone conclusion anyway. Liked the train motif, although it's weird that the motif also includes a matronly woman all but nodding her approval to Hanks at the end. I guess the surprising thing is that a movie ominously titled Bridge of Spies is actually quite gentle and sort of charmingly old Hollywood.

Oh, and the quiet reminder of the overall "arms race" with someone pointing out to Hanks that the Russian side of the bridge has snipers simply because the American side does. [Of course, the reverse is just as true, which is the whole goddang problem.]