Day 313: Bridge of Spies (January, 16)

Hello, there! Long time no see. Yes, I know. There are times in which I'm not game for writing... but the drafts were piling up and I had to finally talk about the movie I've seen these last days before I forget about them.

Bridge of Spies was a nice surprise. A friend told me that he thought it was pretty boring - after seeing it with my mother in a rainy afternoon, I have to disagree. I wasn't in my "ideal" context for a movie: uncomfortably seated on the living room sofa at my mum's house, a lot of noise around us, my nieces walking in front of us during the film... Even like that, I was glued to the screen, too rooked by the story, based in true events.

It is a clever spy movie - a Brothers Coen script after all. Scenes carefully crafted, as are the characters. Subdued colors, quiet takes, strong features - that was my first impression, one that was confirmed along the whole story.  Silent in many moments, but still intense. There's some easy cliches about the split of Germany, I think. The story could dispense from that forced hand. But it didn't diminished what was to me to see the wall being built in a wrecked post war Germany.

The two main characters are especially interesting: Tom Hanks as James B. Donovan, a lawyer that respects his own craft, and Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, the Russian spy that has the right of a 'fair' trial in the US on the heighest point of the cold war. 

As I've said about Carol, some historical movies highlight current social features. Despite the specific events during a certain time, its present relevance is patent. The due process of law is a fundamental legal principle in US. Because of that, the Russian spy would have the right to a "fair" trial, with a legal representative for his defense. Well, it is not random to see human rights being just for show, and not by individual, but by legal and governmental institutions. it is what happened here: the right to an impartial arbiter was just a farce for those who had the decision on their hands.

Movies based on true events usually have a strong grip on romanticizing. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised to know that the speech in front of the Supreme Court were the actual words used by Donovan in his arguments. A great and concise speech that denounced a farce of rightful legislation. I was terrified - for what happened then and for what happens everyday now. Historical facts are a relevant mirror to us now - not as a mere repetition, though. It is much more that that. It is the way humanity has been choosing to mask the unfairness of social, economic, cultural regulations.

Bridge of Spies. Directed Steven Spielberg. With: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance,
Alan Alda. Writers: Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. USA/Germany/
India, 2015, 142 min., Dolby Digital, Color/Black and White (DVD).

PS: Rudd, you're such a good friend. That's why I'm still here with Steins;Gate - episodes 7 to 9.