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Girl on the Bridge [1999]


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Editorial
Special Features

2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 5
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original Theatrical Trailer
English

Editorial
Synopsis

In his magical, erotic eighteenth feature, French director Patrice Leconte (RIDICULE, MONSIEUR HIRE) captivates viewers from the first elegant black and white frame. In the prologue, fragile beauty Adele (Vanessa Paradis) recounts her wayward, sadly promiscuous past in a comically matter-of-fact manner. Despite the lighthearted telling, Adele sees her life (all twenty-two years of it) as a tragic run of bad luck, leading her to a bridge on the Seine. She is saved from suicide by the arrival of Gabor (Daniel Auteuil) who jumps in after her. After the rescue, Gabor whisks Adele away to be the new assistant for his knife-throwing act. She blooms under his tutelage, and Gabor reaches new heights of his craft conceding that before Adele, he too, was lost. They happily traverse the Mediterranean, performing for thrilled crowds, and find they share a mystical, telepathic bond that comes in handy in casinos. As their feelings deepen, the knife-act becomes an erotic substitute, fraught with sexual tension (particularly in the beautiful scene beneath a railway bridge set to Marianne Faithful). Will the two realize in time that like the torn half of a dollar bill that Gabor gives Adele, each is useless apart
Editorial
From the Back Cover

A girl on a bridge is preparing to take her own life. Adele (Vanessa Paradis) looks determined to jump but a passing stranger offers her an alternative ending. Gabor (Daniel Auteil) is a circus act on the search for an new assistant but is this where knife-throwers like him find their new targets or is this just love at first sight?

Adele takes a gamble on fate and enters Gabor's strange but exciting world. As a double act they breathe life into each other and rediscover good fortune. With Gabor's skill and Adele's stunning looks they take their act to the edge and are soon thrilling audiences across Europe.

Adele is in debt to Gabor for her new confidence in life and is sure it will help her find Mr. Right. However, the moment they are apart, luck deserts them and it is only now that they truly realize the effect they had on each other. This is a unique, enchanting romantic comedy that leaves a lasting impression.


Simply gorgeous
Review date: 2008-05-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

Spoilers.....

I love this movie. I've always liked anything that Auteuil does so was bound to watch this and what a feast it is. My one regret is the movie is b/w although you hardly notice once you are into it because it's so charming a story.

I was particularly struck by the use of the knife-throwing act to become an erotic experience - what a clever theme.

I do not object to the ending that some call sugary. I think it is absolutely the right ending. We don't have to have all fantasy movies ending as tragedies just to please people who don't like happy endings. There are far too many movies that twist the story to ensure the ending is as miserable as possible which has been "fashionable" for some time and is becoming so tedious. The French are as much guilty of this as any others, seeming to all too often delight in dismal endings. So it was pleasing to discover that they did manage to find a happy ending for this delightful fantasy. After all, it is a fantasy, not meant to be real life, so we don't have to have everyone ending up miserable as sin or proudly wallowing in some idea that a movie is always better if everything ends in pain, loss and sorrow. Accolades to the writer and director for ensuring this movie at least could leave us feeling fulfilled and happy instead of dismally accepting life can't ever really be happy - which is completely illogical. Fashion isn't everything.

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Reviews


bit of quality cinema
Review date: 2007-12-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

a great film, easy to watch with a good story content.
vanessa paradis hmmmm oh la la, its worth watching just to see her smoulder on screen, sometimes you want it to be in colour but on the whole b&w works well, and well worth the money

A French chick flick
Review date: 2007-09-05 Rating: 4 out of 10

Unrealistic without being fantasy. This is entertaining with some beautiful shots (mainly paradis) but don't expect a great script, commanding performances or twisting plots. OK for 90 minutes of blank entertainment but then, why bother with this when Hollywood does tht so much better.

Girl on the Bridge
Review date: 2006-08-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a beautiful little story about a knife-thrower who rescues a girl from attempting suicide and who, very quickly, after employing her as his assistant, strikes up a psychic bond with her. It is not until the end, after numerous obstacles, when she rescues him back that they realise that they have no choice but to spend the rest of their lives together. It is beautifully shot in black and white, and exquisitely acted by both Auteuil and Paradis, you can not help but fall in love with them.

Funny, romantic and utterly captivating...
Review date: 2006-05-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

"The Girl on the Bridge" ("La Fille Sur Le Pont") is a rare gem of a film which can be a romantic comedy, a tragedy and a suspense film all rolled into one. With powerhouse performances from Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis, this film will have you laughing and squirming in your seat at the same time. I defy anyone to actually stop the film and make a cup of coffee. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Paradis is a lonely, depressed 21 year old woman at the end of her rope. The opening scene is pure quality as her character, Adele, explains her frustration at the mercy of the love / sex dichotomy; her composure slowly crumbling along the way. She goes to a bridge in Paris to end it all and meets Gabor (Auteuil), a burnt out 40+ year-old circus knife thrower. Gabor explains that he stands on bridges looking for desperate women to partner him in his act. Rather than sacrificing his dignity in order to disuade her from suicide, Gabor resorts to reverse psychology and both of them wind up in the river. In the hands of an older man, Adele learns a level of self control she never had and Gabor gets the co-worker he has always wanted and needed. As a partnership, they are complete but it will depend on Adele's ability to deny herself the thing which has brought her undone for so long. Denying her fear in the act is easier.

The first time they appear in public, Gabor goes all-out to impress his audience, gambling on the symbiosis of their relationship with a maximum risk performance. The scene is truly gut wrenching and frightening; an exploration of the voyeurism in humans which will attract us to such an act. The brutality of the thump as the knife hits the backboard has them squirming in their seats and Adele and Gabor discover something new about themselves. They communicate even when they are apart. They can gamble together even when they are not together and luck is on their side. In the stage lights they are brilliant.

The scene at the rail yard in Italy examines their relationship in an off-stage performance which takes them to new heights as they both experience the erotic pleasure of danger and completeness to the haunting Marianne Faithfull song "Who Will take My Dreams Away?". Soon, however, Adele's period of sexual denial comes to an end and she leaves Gabor, resulting in their return to their previous luckless existences. The ending, for me, was a little predictable but it didn't detract from a film which is a guilty pleasure to watch.

Beautifully shot in black and white and featuring a lot of hand-held shots and snappy editing, the transfer has a lustrous quality to it and I simply could not imagine it in colour. The lighting is superb and renders a rich grey scale. The script is wonderful with a healthy helping of black humour and romantic tension. It has been said that the most romantic monent is the last breath before the first kiss. In this film that last breath goes for almost the entire film. Patrice Leconte is the only director I can think of who could have done this film justice and he delivers in a big way.

Top marks at all levels.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Demetre Georgalas
Vanessa Paradis
Frédéric Pfluger
Catherine Lascault
Daniel Auteuil

Creators:
Vanessa Paradis (Primary Contributor)
Daniel Auteuil (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Pathe Distribution
Manufacturer: Pathe Distribution
EAN: 0506000283080
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2000-11-20
Universal product code (UPC): 506000283080
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 88 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: French (Unknown)
Language: English (Subtitled)

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