The student news site of Colonia High School

The Declaration

Breaking News
  • March 1Good luck to our wrestlers in the State Competition in Atlantic City
  • March 13/2 - Girls’ Basketball State Championship vs. Chatham (away) @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
  • March 13/2 - Boys' Basketball vs. Millburn (home) NJSIAA Tournament, Final Round, North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 TBA
  • March 1Celebrating read across America this month
  • March 1March is Women's Herstory Month
The student news site of Colonia High School

The Declaration

The student news site of Colonia High School

The Declaration

Poll

Good News! You have the opportunity to live forever, but you must be one age for the rest of your life. Which age would you choose?

Loading...

Sorry, there was an error loading this poll.

Advertisement

Bridge of Spies Crosses You Over to the Cold War

Bridge of Spies Crosses You Over to the Cold War
Photo Credit: Photo via Wikipedia labeled for reuse under Creative Commons License

Bridge of Spies is a thriller movie starring Tom Hanks that is centered in the secretive world of the Cold War and shows how what the public was told was a distorted image of what really happened behind the scenes.

The movie is based around the arrest of a man who is suspected of spying on the U.S. Government for the Soviet Union. As the judicial system of the United States works – all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. In this case, James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is approached to be the attorney for the alleged spy for the sole reason that the judicial system requires him to be represented. Donovan is informed that he is to bot actually try to represent this man, but rather just be a figure to make it look as though he is so that they can say that he was.

James Donovan (Tom Hanks) in the movie Bridge of Spies.
James Donovan (Tom Hanks) in the movie Bridge of Spies. Photo Credit: Photo via YouTube labeled for reuse under Creative Commons License

Unfortunately, for the U.S. Government Donovan takes his job very seriously, and plans to uphold the integrity of the United States’ Constitution and represent this man’s rights. He attempts to get the evidence that was illegally obtained thrown out, however, the court states that they will not throw out this evidence since it is the prosecutor’s whole case, and proceeds with the trial with the illegal evidence. The spy is found guilty of espionage and is sentenced to death.

This is where the story gets interesting with the attorney, James Donovan, fighting to have the death sentence reduced to a life sentence. His reasoning that if the Soviet Union where to ever capture an American as a prisoner they would be able to trade.

Story continues below advertisement

Meanwhile a second story parallels the main story, and eventually leads to the Soviet Union capturing an American and this is where the story takes a turn that was not seen coming.

Obviously, this is exactly what Donovan was warning about and the U.S. Government now has someone to trade with thanks to the attorney. The twist is the American government tells Donovan that he will set up and arrange the exchange – the man with no training.

The rest of the movie is a thrilling sequence of events and nail biting moments that tell the rest of the story. How this man with no experience must quickly learn how to do this job in the midst of chaos in Berlin during the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The movie is most definitely one that anybody with an interest in the cold war should check out. There is not too much action; by no means would it be considered action packed. This movie was made for an audience who will pay attention, as well as one who must have prior knowledge of American law as well as some of how the cold war worked. Those interested in this time period would most definitely enjoy this flick.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover
About the Contributor
Michael Passarelli, Fall Reporter/Editor
Michael Passarelli is 18 years old and a senior at Colonia High School. He is involved with numerous clubs at the school including Marching Band, Jazz Band, and was involved with the Directors Showcase for the theatre program during the fall semester. In the band he plays bass guitar and trumpet and during the 2014 season of Marching Band he was in percussion, and in the 2015 season he played bass guitar for the pit. Passarelli plans to eventually start a career in law enforcement although he has already acquired many skills and is very interested in possibly pursuing a career in construction. He plans to major in Business Management in college.

Comments (0)

The Declaration reserved the rights to not publish comments that are offensive, are hurtful, are in bad taste, are not constructive, or are spam.
All The Declaration Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
The student news site of Colonia High School
Bridge of Spies Crosses You Over to the Cold War