Bridge of Spies is a historical drama which premiered in 2015. It is interesting, but there are some flaws.
It is based on a true story: the legendary exchange of spies between East and West that took place on a bridge in Berlin in 1962, at the height of the Cold War.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Directed by Steven Spielberg
** Written by Matt Charman, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
** Run time: 140 minutes
The man in charge of the exchange was the American lawyer James B. Donovan (1916-1970), who had some experience with international affairs:
# 1. From 1943 to 1945 he had been General Counsel at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (the forerunner of the CIA).
# 2. From 1945 to 1946 he had been an assistant to Justice Robert H. Jackson at the Nuremberg Tribunal in Germany.
This drama is based on or inspired by Donovan’s account Strangers on a Bridge which was published in 1964 (and reprinted in 2015), but the title of the drama is borrowed from a book by the British author Giles Whittell: Bridge of Spies (hardcover 2010) (paperback 2012).
Part one
The exchange took place on Glienicke Bridge, which connects West Berlin and Potsdam. During the Cold War, this bridge connected the southwest corner of West Berlin with Potsdam, which was a part of East Germany.
When the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961, the bridge was closed to the public. This is why it was well-suited for an exchange.
Nobody expected anything of importance to happen there. The superpowers did not want any publicity. The exchange had to be done discreetly.
Three persons were exchanged in the morning of 10 February 1962:
# 1. Rudolf Abel (1903-1971), a Soviet spy, who had been working in the US for several years. He was arrested in New York in 1957. Following a trial, he was sentenced to a long prison sentence.
His defence lawyer (James Donovan) convinced the judge not to give Abel a death sentence. With remarkable foresight, he said: if the Soviets later catch one of our guys, we can swap our guy for Abel. This was, in fact, what happened five years later, in Berlin in 1962.
# 2. Francis Gary Powers (1939-1977), an American pilot, whose U-2 spy-plane was shot down over the USSR in 1960.
He bailed out before his plane disintegrated. When he landed with his parachute on the ground, he was arrested. Following a trial, he was sentenced to a long prison sentence.
# 3. Frederic Pryor (1933-2019), a graduate student, who was working on a dissertation about trade in the eastern bloc. He was not a spy, but he was believed to be one, because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He was arrested in East Berlin in August 1961. He was never charged with a crime and never brought before a court, but if he had been, he would probably have been found guilty of a crime and he would have faced a long prison sentence.
Abel and Powers were exchanged on the bridge. Abel walked from the West Berlin end, while Powers walked from the Potsdam end. Halfway across the bridge they passed each other. This was the only time they met.
The exchange on the bridge did not take place until Pryor had been handed over to his parents at Check Point Charlie, one of two crossing points in the city.
When this drama begins, we already know how it will it end. We know the exchange was made. What we do not know is how Donovan managed to accomplish this feat in a matter of days. It was a masterful negotiation.
His status was difficult to define. He was official and unofficial. He was officially chosen by the US Government to facilitate the exchange.
If he was successful, the US Government would take credit for it and give him credit for it. But if he was not successful, if anything went wrong, the US Government did not know anything about him.
Once he crossed the line and entered the eastern zone, he was on his own, with no back-up.
There were many obstacles. The Soviet authorities were prepared to release Powers, if they got Abel back. But Donovan wanted more than that. He also wanted Pryor, who was held by the East Germans.
What could he offer them? He could offer Abel. But he had already played this card with the USSR.
East Germany wanted something else. Perhaps a US recognition of East Germany? But Donovan could not offer this, because the US was not going to give it.
What could he do to persuade them? As soon as he had solved one problem, another problem popped up instead. And there was a deadline. Time was running out!
Both superpowers wanted to do this, but they did not really trust each other. Each side suspected that the other side would try to cheat or at the last minute find some excuse to back out.
At one point, the USSR suggested that the US should release Abel first, as a sign of good will. Once this was done, the USSR was going to release Powers.
Donovan explained that this suggestion was not acceptable. The release of the two spies - Abel and Powers - would have to be simultaneous. Otherwise, it was not going to happen.
This story is so fantastic that it is hard to believe, but it is true. This drama about the spies will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, while you wonder how Donovan is going to solve the numerous problems that he faces.
Part two
What do reviewers say about this drama?
Here are some answers:
76 percent = IMDb
81 percent = Meta
87 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
91 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
The ratings are quite good, as you can see, I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with some of them.
This drama is interesting. The actors play their roles well, in particular Tom Hanks, who plays the role of Donovan.
The script is well-written. And historical accuracy seems to be important for the filmmakers. The historical setting – Berlin 1962 – is very convincing.
This drama is good, but not great. What is wrong? There are some flaws here and there. In the following, I will mention the flaws I have found while watching:
# 1. Abel had worked as a Soviet spy in the US for many years, but this is not mentioned in the drama. The drama begins with his arrest. We are not told how the FBI came to arrest him.
The FBI did not find Abel. He was a clever and careful spy. He was only caught, because one of his co-workers betrayed him. The co-worker wanted to defect and gave the Americans information about Abel, so he himself could go free.
# 2. In the drama, some young East Berliners steal Donovan’s overcoat while he is walking through East Berlin. It was in February, in the middle of the winter, so it was freezing cold.
Losing an overcoat would be a horrible experience. But this story is not true. Donovan’s overcoat was not stolen in Berlin. The filmmakers must have decided to add this episode in order to make the movie more dramatic. Actually, this was not necessary.
# 3. In the drama, Donovan takes the train from Friedrichstrasse, one of two crossing points in the city. The train passes over the Berlin Wall. He is going from east to west.
Just before the train passes the wall, he looks down and he sees someone who is shot while running towards the wall. Did this happen? Yes, there were a few episodes like this. Did Donovan see one of these episodes? No, he did not. He only heard about them.
The filmmakers must have decided to add this episode in order to make the movie more dramatic. Actually, this was not necessary.
# 4. Tom Hanks, who was born in 1956, is too old for this role. When the drama was made, he was 58. Donovan was born in 1916. In 1962, he was not yet 50. When he died in 1970, he was only 53. In other words: Hanks is about ten years too old for this role. Fortunately, he does not look old.
# 5. The Germans and the Russians who meet with Donovan in Berlin speak English very well. Perhaps a bit too well. This is not quite realistic. Their English would have been broken.
I guess the filmmakers told these actors to speak perfect English in order to make things easy for the audience, but this was not a good idea. If the actors had spoken broken English, these conversations would have been more realistic.
# 6. In the drama, we see some East German soldiers who are building the Berlin Wall. It is winter time. It is cold. These images are not correct. What is wrong? The first version of the Berlin Wall went up during the summer, in August 1961.
# 7. Only one of the three persons who were exchanged in February 1962 was still alive when the drama was in production: Frederic Pryor.
Surprisingly, the filmmakers did not contact him while they were working on the drama.
When Pryor saw the movie, several weeks after the premiere, he was surprised to discover that most of the scenes with him are totally false. He said:
“They had me being arrested by trying to help some beautiful blonde through the Berlin Wall while it was being constructed. I was in Denmark at the time it was being built – and I didn’t know any beautiful blondes in East Berlin.”
For more details about Pryor and his memories of Berlin, see the following item:
Katie Grant,
“Stasi prisoner portrayed in Steven Spielberg film brands depiction totally false,”
The Independent
05 December 2015
Conclusion
Bridge of Spies is a good drama, but as you can see, there are some flaws.
While items # 1-4 may be described as minor, items # 5-7 are much more serious, and they cannot be ignored.
I have to remove one star because of these flaws. The rating on Meta is very appropriate. This drama deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. The following item is available online
Kevin Lang,
“Bridge of Spies,”
History VS. Hollywood
09 October 2015
# 2. Books
Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers
By James B. Donovan
(first published 1964)
(reprinted 2015)
Negotiator: The Life and Career of James B. Donovan
By Philip Bigger
(2005)
Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War
By Giles Whittell
(2010 = hardcover)
(2012 = paperback)
Abel: The True Story of the Spy They Traded for Gary Powers
By Vin Arthey
(2015)
*****
The American pilot
Gary Powers
(1929-1977)
*****
The Soviet intelligence officer
Rudolf Abel
(1903-1971)
*****
The American economist
Frederic Pryor
(1933-2019)
*****
The American lawyer
James B. Donovan
(1916-1970)
*****
The famous bridge
Glienicke Bridge
where the exchange of spies
took place in February 1962
On the left side:
the southwest corner of West Berlin
On the right side:
Potsdam which was a part of East Germany
during the Cold War
*****
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