With ‘Bridge of Spies,’ Steven Spielberg continues his fascination with

While promoting his new film, ‘Bridge of Spies, ‘ at a recent press event, Spielberg said, “To clarify, I didn’t predict the implosion of the film industry at all, I simply predicted that a number of blockbusters in one summer – those big sort of tentpole superhero movies – there was going to come a time where two or three or four of them in a row didn’t work”. Until its overly drawn-out, classically Spielbergian ending, Bridge of Spies avoids grasping for timely allegory, which is, in a few ways, a noble decision; many historical dramas get lost searching for modern-day relevance.

If it weren’t for the band of chiseled Federal Bureau of Investigation agents following him around, no one would ever suspect him of being an agent: He has a warm, round face and stubby, bushy eyebrows that wobble up and down when he talks.

In the end, I left the theater feeling like I had actually learned something about our history that I could retain which is just shy of a miracle. “Because there seems to be an audience for everything”.

Although the entire American public and justice system believes him to be a spy, and the audience even sees him receive a coded message, the doubt is always there as to his true motives.

Although most of the movie belongs to Hanks, the prisoner (and bargaining chip) haunts the picture from off screen.

But for now there is “Bridge of Spies”, a skillful, thoughtful movie about moral quandaries, duty and obligation imbued by a spirit and tone that is retro and low-key.

So there you go – perhaps those Spielberg Hates Spandex headlines were a little premature after all. The film is set to be released on October 16, 2015.

When Abel is arrested and tried on suspicion of espionage, New York lawyer James B. Donovan (Hanks) is called in to give him a token defense, demonstrating in theory that every criminal in America gets a fair trial, even spies.

“Tom Hanks is one of the best parts of my life”, says Spielberg, tapping a still of the actor as Donovan, standing beside an airplane on location at the former Berlin airport Tempelhof.

Spielberg says he came across the story nearly by accident. In Spielberg’s affectionate light, James Donovan looks like the kind of hero we should probably hope for more often. As for how he enjoyed playing his character, he told me, “I like being a spy”. I had never been in the spy genre before, even though this is a story about gentleman spies, not cloak-and-dagger spies with silencers and assassins. To play the street-smart but profoundly ethical Donovan, Spielberg thought of Hanks, who quickly signed on.

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