Steel bridge

Bridge of Spies is a very well crafted movie, as you would expect from Spielberg. Although I think they could have emphasised the whole cold war fear & distrust culture a little more, it depicts the time well. Indeed the often unsung heroes of modern movies are the set arrangers and costume directors: as they set the mood of the film so well these days.

Mark Rylance is heading for an Oscar soon. This performance won't quite win him one, but I suspect he is well on the trail. His acting in this is palpable: you can can feel his emotions in your bones. Tom Hanks is predictably good although my all time favourite film of his is still Big. He was just so giddy and unselfconscious in that movie. Bridge of Spies is a movie to see, in my view.

As the trailer explains, Rylance's character regards Hanks' character as being like the 'standing man' from his past: someone who when knocked down, just stood up again. (As an aside, I think 'Standing Man' would have been a far better title for the movie than the corny pun we got...) So the leadership theme from this movie is one of resilience.

Leaders need to be resilient: indefatigable, persistent, courageous and stubborn. It is a tall order, especially when combined with everything else a leader has to do. How do the best leaders stay resilient? Apart from getting enough sleep and staying healthy, I think the most important ingredient is having a clear sense of purpose - knowing what is your mounting contribution to the world.

What are you contributing?

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This is Blog 133 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.