Standing Man

Shanie 2022-03-21 09:01:23

Watched "Bridge of Spies," a movie about an American lawyer defending a Soviet spy during the Cold War. The bridge here superficially means the place where the United States and the Soviet Union exchanged prisoners, and the implied meaning is the role played by Tom Hanks' lawyer Jim between the United States and the Soviet Union.
As a politically correct film, the narrative style is impeccable, and although there are places where you can guess what will happen next, this does not prevent it from being a great film. Tom Hanks' character and acting are easy to get everyone's attention and love, but my focus is on the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, whose calm and sobriety impressed me: whether it is at the beginning of the film Arrested, or said three times in the movie: Would it help? That desperation hidden in calm is moving.
About Standing Man, Abel used dad friend's story: Every time they hit him, he stood back up again. So they hit him harder. Still, he got back to his feet. I think because of this they stopped beating. They let him live. He praised Jim's insistence on protecting human rights. In the film, whether he insisted on Abel's view that Abel is the first person and then the prisoner, or the rescue of the arrested college student, even if he was opposed by the whole society, even his own family. Misunderstanding, he has not given up his insistence on protecting human rights, although thousands of people have gone!
I was impressed by the contrast between the two in the film. The first comparison is on the bus. When everyone found out that Jim was a lawyer who defended the Soviet spies, they were hostile to him. After Jim completed the spy exchange, he was still on the bus. It was the same people, but their eyes had changed. for appreciation. Another contrast is over the wall: in East Germany, several young people were shot and killed trying to escape over the Berlin Wall to West Germany, and in the United States, several young people who appeared to be escapees managed to climb over the barbed wire.

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Extended Reading

Bridge of Spies quotes

  • Rudolf Abel: Standing there like that you reminded me of the man that used to come to our house when I was young. My father used to say: "watch this man'. So I did. Every time he came. And never once did he do anything remarkable.

    James Donovan: And I remind you of him?

    Rudolf Abel: This one time, I was at the age of your son, our house was overrun by partisan border guards. Dozens of them. My father was beaten, my mother was beaten, and this man, my father's friend, he was beaten. And I watched this man. Every time they hit him, he stood back up again. So they hit him harder. Still he got back to his feet. I think because of this they stopped the beating. They let him live. "Stoit i muzhik," I remember them saying... "stoit i muzhik." Which sort of means like uh, 'standing man'. Standing man...

  • James Donovan: [forced to leave dining room before eating his meal] Enjoy your big American breakfast.