Cinema’s great pairing extend their hot streak in the Cold War

12A)

(12A) epic results ( Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Terminal) and now this enticing and dynamic Cold War spy thriller allows him to shine like the star he is.

Set in politically frosty 1957, Hanks plays James Donovan, a lawyer charged with the task of defending Irishman Rudolf Abel (screen-stealing Mark Rylance) a reflective Russian spy. Arguing that Abel is courageous rather than treacherous does not wash with the hostile American public but, when a US pilot is shot down over Russia, Donovan faces the bigger task of negotiating a swap in East Berlin. That this is a real-life story makes it all the better. Even more so because Spielberg invited the Coen brothers to add their unique blend of smart wit and wisdom to British playwright Matt Charman’s script. This is seriously grown-up cinema made by and starring some of the most talented people on the planet. It sells itself.

Unlike Sanna Lenken’s My Skinny Sister which is a small, but finely acted independent Swedish film about a young girl battling the dilemmas of puberty and her beautiful older sister’s anorexia. Rebecka Josephson gives a glorious debut performance as 12-yearold Stella dazzled and confused by the mood swings and body dysmorphia of Katja (Amy Diamond) her sibling who gets all the attention because of her iceskating talent. As is the way with small independents, My Skinny Sister will struggle to get a weighty presence at the box office but, as its subject — which is handled with integrity and understanding — affects so many teenage girls, it should be on the school curriculum.