Bridge of Spies (2015)

Tom Hanks: James B. Donovan

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Quotes 

• James Donovan : I have a mandate to serve you. Nobody else does. Quite frankly, everybody else has an interest in sending you to the electric chair.

  Rudolf Abel : All right...

  James Donovan : You don't seem alarmed.

  Rudolf Abel : Would it help?

• 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...

• Hoffman : Has your guy talked?

  James Donovan : Excuse me?

  Hoffman : You met him. Has he talked? Has he said anything yet?

  James Donovan : We're not having this conversation.

  Hoffman : Of course not.

  James Donovan : No, I mean we are really not having it. You're asking me to violate attorney-client privilege.

  Hoffman : Aw, come on, counselor.

  James Donovan : You know, I wish people like you would quit saying, 'Aw, come on, counselor'. I didn't like it the first time it happened today. A judge said it to me twice. The more I hear it, the more I don't like it.

  Hoffman : OK, well, listen, I understand attorney-client privilege. I understand all the legal gamesmanship, and I understand that's how you make your living, but I'm talking to you about something else, the security of your country. I'm sorry if the way I put it offends you, but we need to know what Abel is telling you. You understand me, Donovan? Don't go Boy Scout on me. We don't have a rule book here.

  James Donovan : You're Agent Hoffman, yeah?

  Hoffman : Yeah.

  James Donovan : German extraction.

  Hoffman : Yeah, so?

  James Donovan : My name's Donovan. Irish, both sides. Mother and father. I'm Irish and you're German. But what makes us both Americans? Just one thing. One. Only one. The rule book. We call it the Constitution, and we agree to the rules, and that's what makes us Americans. That's all that makes us Americans. So don't tell me there's no rule book, and don't nod at me like that you son of a bitch.

  [Gets up to leave] 

  Hoffman : Do we need to worry about you?

  James Donovan : Not if I'm left alone to do my job.

• James Donovan : The death sentence is not a foregone conclusion. Don't worry.

  Rudolf Abel : I'm not afraid to die, Mr. Donovan. Although, it wouldn't be my first choice.

• James Donovan : You have been charged with three counts and nineteen overt acts. Conspiracy to transmit United States defence and atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, conspiracy to gather secrets, and failing to register as a foreign agent.

  Rudolf Abel : Do many foreign agents register?

• Wolfgang Vogel : You treat us as stooges for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

  James Donovan : Can we just call them the Russians and save time?

• James Donovan : I think they have...

  Hoffman : What?

  James Donovan : ...snipers.

  Hoffman : I'm sure they do.

  James Donovan : How are you sure they do?

  Hoffman : Because *we* have snipers.

• James Donovan : Everyone will hate me, but at least I'll lose.

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

• [repeated line] 

  James Donovan : Every person matters.

• James Donovan : We need to get off this merry-go-round sir. The next mistake our countries make could be the last one. We need to have the conversation our governments can't.

• Rudolf Abel : There may be a glitch. I was a young man when I left. Who will they find to identify me?

  James Donovan : I hope it's not your East German family. I don't think they could identify each other.

• Ivan Schischkin : We don't have Pryor.

  James Donovan : No? You don't?

  Ivan Schischkin : I've heard of Pryor, but he's held by the German Democratic Republic, not by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

  James Donovan : I'll tell you the first problem. The names of your countries are too long.

• Francis Gary Powers : [returning home]  I gave them nothing. I gave them nothing.

  James Donovan : It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what people think. You know what you did.

• James Donovan : [At different times in the movie]  One, one, one.

• Hoffman : Look at the map now. You shouldn't take it with you. You're looking at a map, you're an American, you're a spy. You could well be detained. Just avoid interacting with people generally. You don't belong, so don't stick out. Food is scarce over there and things have started to fall apart. There are gangs, and rule of law is less firmly established over there. And definitely stay away from the Wall. On their side, there's a line cleared of buildings along the Wall. They call it the "Death Line." Cross it and you'll be shot.

  James Donovan : Is there any outcome here where I'm not either detained or shot?

  Hoffman : Don't worry too much about what Michener said.

  James Donovan : No, I'm worried about what you're saying.

• James Donovan : My coat was stolen from me.

  Ivan Schischkin : What did you expect? It was from Saks Fifth Avenue, wasn't it?

• Bates : According to your description, "He hit my five guys."

  James Donovan : The guy insured by my client had one accident. One, one, one. Losing control of the car and hitting five motorcyclists.

  Bates : From *their* point of view, five things happened.

  James Donovan : Well, look, Bob. May I? Bob?

  Bates : "Jim."

  James Donovan : If I go bowling and I throw a strike, one thing happened. 10 things didn't happen.

  Bates : Jim, my guys aren't bowling pins, as much as your guy may have treated them as such.

  James Donovan : Let me finish. If your house is insured for $100,000 and a tornado carries it away, it carried away one house. It didn't pick up every stick of furniture and destroy it in a separate incident. If that is what you're saying, well then there is never any limit to our liability, and that is the end of the insurance business. And then, Bob, nobody is safe.

• Rudolf Abel : You've never asked me if the charges were true. If I am indeed a spy.

  James Donovan : This is how we do it. The case against you matters. Making them prove it matters. The fiction is: Whether you did it or not doesn't matter. The state has to prove it, that you're a spy.

• Allen Dulles : Best that this all remains confidential. Let's not discuss any of this with Mary or with anyone else. Share the correspondence only with us. Let us know what they want to do and when.

  James Donovan : I've got no client, no wife, no country. Don't know what I'm doing or when - or who for.

  Allen Dulles : You're doing it for your country, but your country doesn't know that yet.

  James Donovan : What about my client, the other person in this equation? My guy.

  Allen Dulles : Your guy? You mean the Russian? He's not your guy anymore, Counselor. Your guy is Francis Gary Powers now.

  James Donovan : What do I tell Rudolf Abel?

  Allen Dulles : Tell him not to drop dead.

• James Donovan : You don't even like Powers. Everybody hates Powers. He didn't kill himself and he let the Commies parade him on television. He's the most hated man in America... after Rudolf Abel... and me.

• James Donovan : Were you beaten?

  Rudolf Abel : No. I was talked to. Offers were made.

• James Donovan : Sometimes in Germany you just want a big American breakfast.

• Rudolf Abel : [waiting at the prisoner exchange]  I sent you a gift, Jim. It's a... it's a painting. I hope it has some meaning to you.

  James Donovan : I'm sorry, I didn't think to get you a gift.

  Rudolf Abel : This is your gift.

• James Donovan : What do you think will happen when you get home?

  Rudolf Abel : I think... I'll have a vodka.

  James Donovan : [chuckling]  Yeah. Yeah. But, Rudolf, is there not the possibility...

  Rudolf Abel : That my people are going to shoot me?

  James Donovan : Yes. You're not worried?

  Rudolf Abel : Would it help? To answer your question, my friend, I acted honorably. I think they know that. But sometimes people think wrong. People are people. Let's see how they greet me.

  James Donovan : What can I look for?

  Rudolf Abel : If I'm embraced or just shown the back seat.

• Wolfgang Vogel : There will be no exchange on Glienicke Bridge.

  James Donovan : Excuse me, sir.

  Wolfgang Vogel : There will be no exchange. Not for Frederic Pryor.

  James Donovan : Mr. Vogel, I thought yesterday we had agreed.

  Wolfgang Vogel : We agreed on an exchange, Abel for Pryor. Now I learn you are a rug merchant selling the same rug to two customers. Abel for Pryor you sell to us.

  James Donovan : Yeah.

  Wolfgang Vogel : And Abel for Powers you sell to the Soviets.

  James Donovan : I-I'm not quite sure what the problem is if, uh, the arrangement satisfies two parties or three or four. What difference does it make?

  Wolfgang Vogel : The arrangement does not satisfy this party.

• James Donovan : But it's also an honor. And the Bar Association asked me because they want to show that even a spy gets a capable advocate.

  Mary Donovan : Well, maybe it's an honor we could do without.

  James Donovan : [his daughter comes in]  Hey, honey, what are you doing home?

  Carol Donovan : I got stood up.

  James Donovan : W... well, that's despicable. Who is this knot-head?

  Carol Donovan : I'd rather not say.

• James Donovan : [arguing before the 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 contend that Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, "Colonel Abel" as he was called even by the men who arrested him, is our foe in that battle. He was treated as a combatant in that war until it no longer suited our government to so treat him. Accordingly, he was not given the protections we give our own citizens. He was subjected to treatment that, however appropriate for a suspected enemy, was not appropriate to a suspected criminal. I know this man. If the charge is true, he serves a foreign power but he serves it faithfully. If he is a soldier in the opposing army, he is a good soldier. 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 government, 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?

• Hoffman : This is exactly what you weren't supposed to do.

  James Donovan : My instructions were to feel out the situation.

  Hoffman : Your instructions were to get Powers, not Pryor. That was not the original deal. You fouled it all up!

  James Donovan : How do you know? I feel pretty good about it.

  Hoffman : You fucked it all up!

  James Donovan : Oh, don't worry. I think it's gonna be fine.

  Hoffman : How do you know? You don't know that.

  James Donovan : Look, this whole thing has been to feel me out. Would I swap one for one and which one? But I said, "No, two for one." So they know where we stand.

  Hoffman : Yeah, what if they think about it and say, uh... "Forget it! You keep our guy, we keep your guys"?

  James Donovan : Well, then I have fucked it all up.

• James Donovan : It's my business, what-ifs. I'm in insurance.

• Lynn Goodnough : The Soviet spy they caught, we want you to defend him. Here's the indictment.

  James Donovan : Wow. I'm not sure I wanna pick that up.

  Thomas Watters Jr. : The accused doesn't know any lawyers. The federal court tossed it into our lap. The Bar Committee took a vote. You're the unanimous choice.

  Lynn Goodnough : It was important to us... well, it's important to our country, Jim, that this man is seen as getting a fair shake. American justice will be on trial.

  James Donovan : Well, of course, when you put it that way, it's an honor to be asked. But, Lynn, I'm an insurance lawyer. I haven't done criminal work in years.

  Lynn Goodnough : It's like riding a bike, isn't it? You distinguished yourself at Nuremberg.

  James Donovan : I was on the prosecution team.

  Lynn Goodnough : Not the point. You're no stranger to criminal law. Jim, look at the situation. The man is publicly reviled.

  James Donovan : And I will be, too.

  Lynn Goodnough : Yes, in more ignorant quarters. But that's exactly why this has to be done, and capably done. It can't look like our justice system tosses people on the ash heap.

  James Donovan : [flipping through the indictment paperwork]  Suppose I did, what's the evidence look like?

  Lynn Goodnough : Pretty overwhelming.

• Rudolf Abel : Dear Jim. How are you?

  James Donovan : Happy to see you.

  Rudolf Abel : Have you arranged all this for me?

  James Donovan : Well, let's see what this is before I... I take credit for it.

• James Donovan : What's going on in here?

  Roger Donovan : Okay, Dad, this is really important. When the war begins, the first thing they do is cut off all the water and all the electricity. So the first thing we should do is keep this filled, use the shower in your room, use the sink downstairs, the garden hose outside...

  James Donovan : Those are good ideas. But, Roger, I don't see this as being something you ever have to worry about.

  Roger Donovan : Yeah, but when you hear the sirens, there may not be enough time to fill the tub and the sinks.

  James Donovan : Not gonna be any sirens... what is this?

  Roger Donovan : When the bomb comes, the Reds will aim for the Empire State Building. But the bomb goes off at 10,000 feet up. In Life magazine, it's called an airburst, and if the bomb is 50 megatons, the blast wave goes out and out and out and melts everything from here to here. Including where we live. Here.

  James Donovan : Yeah, right there. But, you know, Roger, no one is dropping atomic bombs on us.

  Roger Donovan : But the Russians want to. You know that Russian guy you're defending? He's here to get things ready for the guys who drop the bombs.

  James Donovan : No, no, he's not... he's not here for that. He's not even Russian. He was born, we think, in northern England.

  Roger Donovan : Yeah, but he's a spy for Russia. I don't even understand what you're doing. You're not a Communist, so why are you defending one?

  James Donovan : Well, because it's my job.

  Roger Donovan : It never used to be.

• James Donovan : Tell me if I am describing this wrong. You have a kid, a university student, someone you know is not a spy, who's no threat to you. And in exchange for this person who is worthless to you, you play an equal part in an exchange between the Russians and the Americans. And this is one transaction between us and the two of you. We're not trying to do two things here, sir. We're just doing one thing. One, one, one. It's hard for me to see how the Republic of East German Democrats is being slighted.

  Wolfgang Vogel : You agreed with the Soviets without consulting me. Is this a negotiation or a conspiracy?

  James Donovan : For it to be a conspiracy, there would have to be harm to you, sir. There's just benefits here. We're of agreeing interests.

  Wolfgang Vogel : No, you decide they agree.

• Thomas Watters Jr. : Jim, you did a great job. You fulfilled your mandate and then some. But the man is a spy. The verdict is correct and there's no reason to appeal it.

  James Donovan : There's ample procedural reason. We know the search is tainted. And Fourth Amendment issues will always weigh more heavily in an appellate form. We've got a good shot.

  Thomas Watters Jr. : What the goddamn hell are you talking about? We were supposed to show he had a capable defense, which we did. Why are you citing the goddamn Constitution at me?

  James Donovan : Tom, if you look me in the eye and tell me we don't have grounds for an appeal, I'll drop it right now.

  Thomas Watters Jr. : I'm not saying that. You know what I'm saying.

  Mary Donovan : Tom is saying there's a cost to these things.

  Thomas Watters Jr. : That's right.

  Mary Donovan : A cost to both your family and your firm.

• James Donovan : Two, two, two.