The film, The Bridge of Spies is a movie about a Soviet spy, caught by the US government, being traded for a captured American spy and student. It is a film based off of true events,and while everything in the movie might not have happened in James Donovan's life, it was not a complete "feel good" story. This film incorporated all different types of entertainment, making it have some connections to the movies seen this past year: 12 Years a Slave, Glory, and Smoke Signals. One question that was brought up for all of these movies was: how historically accurate is this movie? Is everything in them true, or is it romanticized?
One of the movies we watched this year was 12 years a slave. It was based off of one primary source, and used this primary source extensively to tell the story. This movie was not a movie made to make people feel good, but to inform the public on what was really happening, and the extensiveness of it. The Bridge of Spies is similar to this movie in that it was very informative of the time. It let people know what the Cold War conditions were at the time, and what became popular at in the 1950s and 1960s all the way to the late 1980s: espionage. The main character, James Donovan wrote an autobiography about his time defending Abel and initiating the trade for Powers, which the writers relied on heavily for the base of the movie. There were also many primary sources, such as documents signed, and newspapers written, to provide extensive knowledge on the subject.
Another movie we watched this year was Glory; a story about a the first black Civil War regiment. It was a story based on true events, with intentions of drawing the audiences attention into the movie. The writers made up a few characters and conflicts to add in to the movie, to keep the viewer entertained. This is similar to the Bridge of Spies, because the Bridge of Spies was a complete true story, some scenes were just added in to fill up the time. Scenes such as Donovan's house being shot, as well as many of the conversations had were made up, including his daughter being "stood up" on her date. The film was more dramatic at times, then it probably was in real life. Although it had a few made up scenes, the Bridge of Spies was still a lot more realistic, and had a lot more "truths" than Glory.
Smoke Signals was another movie watched this year. This story includes many "truths" of stereotypes and what was happening in many Native Americans lives, but was a fictional story. This one is the least similar to Bridge of Spies, because the story was so fictional, with fictional characters and storylines. One aspect that was similar to Bridge of Spies, is the primary source, was having the filmmaker live through what they wanted to portray. For example, in Smoke Signals, the filmmaker was Native American, making it so he can explain the reality of his people's lives, and what happens on a reservation. In the Bridge of Spies, one of the primary sources was actually the director, Steven Spielberg. Spielberg actually grew up during the Cold War, making it so he can explain what life was like. In a scene from the movie, Donovan comes home to find his son filling up the sinks and bathtubs with water. Donovan asks why, only for his son to explain that he had learned at school that if a nuclear bomb were to come, they may not have access to water. This didn't happen in James Donovan's life, but was Steven Spielberg when he was 15.
After watching this film, The Bridge of Spies, and researching the events happening while this trade was occurring, I have found that this film is very accurate. The events that happened in this film was, Abel being convicted for espionage, Gary Powers plane flying and being shot down by the Russians, Pryor being captured by the Eastern Germans, and Abel being traded for Powers and Pryor. This story had a completely true storyline. One newspaper article I found, The Carrol Daily Times (February 10, 1962), was printed on the day the trade occurred. It talked about what had happened over the past months, along with giving insight into what the setting was, what the mood was like, right down to what each man was wearing. This movie included those exact descriptions. Another article I read on Jstor was an exact description of the events that occurred the day Powers was taken. It mentioned the missile that shot him down, where he was located, and the exact day of the event, which was verified in many primary sources. All of these different articles, helped to prove the truthfulness of this film.
In conclusion, I have found that this film is very accurate. In order for some audiences to be interested in historical movies, some dramatic scenes must always be added. After researching and coming to this conclusion, I read a few film reviews. All of the articles said that the movie was very accurate to what had happened at the time, the only bad part being the movie was too fast. This is understandable, considering these events occurred over five years. Jane Donovan, James' daughter also stated she was very pleased with the movie and how Spielber portrayed it. The Bridge of Spies was as accurate as it could've been with its resources, and was a very source to find out many things about the Cold War in the United States, and in Berlin Germany.
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