An ordinary Brooklyn lawyer is embroiled in an inter-state game of thrones. The Cold War, such a special confrontation period in history, like the winter in Berlin, involved everyone in the cold winter of identity and national belonging.
This seemingly bland narrative is far from a film with a strong sensory impact in "Wolf Warrior 2", but it can be read from the rich layers of contradictions, which make people frown.
Contradictions of identity. Abel showed the composure of "Would it help?" from the moment he appeared, a kind of composure that is unique to his old face after fighting alone for so long that no one can recognize his old face. Conversations like the last on Greenick Bridge - embrace or shown me on the back seat. A special identity like a spy leaves him forever in a hidden grey area where no one will ever acknowledge his identity, his profession, or even his exist. Similarly, Donovan, a once-ordinary insurance lawyer, was suddenly thrown into a case of defending the Soviet spy that was sure to fail. No matter in the United States, he was met with contempt by his fellow family members, and even the personal threat of shooting in the middle of the night. , or in Berlin, alone in mediation that the government does not recognize. Including Pryor, including Powers, they will also be forgotten and denied by the state at any time, if Donovan does not stand.
Conflict between national interests and individual rights. War is never a macro-state struggle, a state is controlled by people, and a state is composed of people. War is always a set of decisions made by micro-individuals, and a collection of war experiences of micro-individuals. And in this, there will always be an irreconcilable relationship between the macro and the micro. At the very beginning of the film, there is such a contradiction - should the respect and protection of people's rights be divided into nationalities? That is to say, should the United States provide the judicial guarantees that American citizens deserve, like the suspected spy of the Soviet Union, the number one enemy at the time? There must be no more persuasive explanation here than Donovan's arguments before the US Supreme Court. - "The Cold War is not just a phrase, Your Honor. It's not just a figure of speech. Truly, a battle is being fought between two competing views of the world. I contended that Rudolf Ivanovich Abel is our foe in that battle .He was treated as a combatant in that war until it no longer suited our goverment to so treat him.Accordingly, he was not given the protections we give our own citizens."
"He has not fled the field of battle to save himself. He has refused to serve his captor. He has refused to betray his cause. He has refused to take the coward's way out. The coward must abandon his dignity before he abandons the field of battle. That, Rudolf Abel will never do. Shouldn't we by giving him the full benefit of the rights that define our system of goverment, show this man who we are? Who we are...Is that not the greatest weapon we have in this Cold War? Will we stand by our cause less resolutely than he stands by his? ”
The most powerful weapon in the Cold War is to show the demeanor of a great power and respect for human rights, and not to make unjust judicial decisions because of blind hostility and hatred. Here is the film's obvious cultural output and the promotion of the American spirit. The pride of the American Empire is beyond words. When the Soviet Union and East Germany were still arguing over whether to exchange one or two prisoners, and when East Germany was still fighting to declare national sovereignty, a contrasting method suddenly brought out the image of the US imperialists, like United The words engraved on the States Supreme Court, ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IS THE FIRMEST PILLAR OF GOOD GOVERMENT, are the same as Lynn's rhetoric when handing over the case to Donovan, "American justice is on trial." The praise of the passing demeanor makes us seem a little deliberate, but we have to admit that this is the core American spirit behind the film. This core spirit was written in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, "that all men are created equal, taht they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights". Here all men are explained in a broader definition by the film.
Of course, there are many contradictions involved in the film, so I won't go into details here, but only choose the two core contradictions to share with you. Criticisms and corrections are welcome~
In the end, the bridge, what is it, is the link that crosses the two sides of the divide, a kind of architecture, a kind of symbol. Bridge of Spies is not only The Glienicke Bridge, but also a bridge built with humanity to cross the Iron Curtain of the Cold War.
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