The Bridge (documentary 2006)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Bridge |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2006 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Eric Steel |
| script | Eric Steel |
| production | Eric Steel |
| music | Alex Heffes |
The Bridge is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Eric Steel . It is about suicide jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco .
It used footage that was shot at the bridge for a year in 2004, as well as interviews with family members, friends and eyewitnesses.
The documentary was inspired by Tad Friend's article Jumpers , published in 2003 in The New Yorker magazine . Friend writes that “Survivors often regretted their decision in mid-air, if not before,” and one victim explains, “I suddenly realized that whatever I thought was irreparable, except for to have almost jumped ”.
The film was shown at several festivals in 2006, including the Chicago International Film Festival , where it was nominated for a Gold Hugo in the Best Documentary category. In 2007 it was released on DVD.
content
The last day in the life of 35-year-old Gene is shown over the course of the film; the film ends with his jump. Interviews with Genes family members and recordings showing Genes on the bridge will be interspersed with the documentation.
Interviewees report about Gene that he was born in San Francisco to an unmarried woman who did not want to be a mother. When she found out she was pregnant, she decided to raise him and became the most important character in his life. In the further course of his depression and his suicidal thoughts are reported, which he revealed to his friends. However, they did not take him seriously because he had often joked with this topic. Gene has been obsessed with the idea of suicide since his mother died of cancer .
While the film crew was recording, Gene appeared on the bridge on May 11, 2004 and walked back and forth for around 90 minutes. Finally he climbed the railing, paused for a few seconds, and jumped.
Steel describes the situation at the time as follows:
“... [he] went across the bridge from south to north and north to south, which are typically tourists . I didn't think he was jumping, but something must have come from him that caught my attention. "
Further interviews with the bereaved of:
- Lisa 45 years, David 50 years, Daniel 52 years, Jim 54 years
In addition, two interviews with:
- Kevin, who survived the jump seriously injured in 2000
“[…] The story of [Kevin], a young man with bipolar disorder who decided to live in the middle of a jump and put his body in a sitting position before hitting the water. He survived with severe cross injuries. [Kevin] remembers standing on the bridge crying for 40 minutes before making the jump. The only person who approached him was a German tourist. She didn't notice his tears and asked him to take a picture of her. "
- a photographer who pulled a young woman willing to jump back over the barrier.
In the credits it is mentioned that in 2004 a total of 24 people jumped from the bridge to their death. The following is a list of 22 names with the respective date of death.
Filming
Steel interviewed relatives and friends of the suicide victims without informing them that he had footage of the deaths of their loved ones. He states that "all family members have now, at this point, seen the film and are happy to have participated." He filmed a total of 120 hours of interviews.
The project was kept a secret in order to avoid anyone "thinking of going to the bridge and being immortalized in the film". In an interview with the BBC , Steel said there was a swell in jumpers as the death toll neared one thousand. Some jumped with signs that said: "I'm the 1000"
The camera crew consisted of 10 to 12 people who turned up every morning for a year to film the bridge. Filming continued throughout 2004 and ended with nearly 10,000 hours of footage.
The work led to a dispute with the bridge administration. She accused Steel of misleading her about his real intentions. In his application to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , which manages the park areas around the bridge, he stated that “he wanted to capture the powerful and spectacular meeting of monument and nature that takes place every day at the Golden Gate Bridge . "
In any case, the filmmakers tried to intervene if there were any signs of suicide attempts. According to Steel, this prevented six jumps. When asked about the copycat allegation, Steel responded that the bridge itself is the copycat problem and the solution is not to not show the film.
music
The soundtrack of The Bridge was composed by the British film composer Alex Heffes and is called: The Shadow of the Bridge .
Other titles
- Nada Surf : Neither Heaven, Nor Space
- Son Volt : World Waits For You
- John Mitchell: Man From Mars
- Howie Day : End of our days
Ingrid Michaelson was so moved by The Bridge that she wrote a song called San Francisco . The piece was released to fan club members who had pre-ordered their 2009 album Everybody . The track did not appear on any album, but Michelson played it live on tour .
reception
The Bridge received mostly positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with 66% Fresh from a total of 56 reviews. Nevertheless, the résumé is controversial:
“Tactically morbid or remarkably sensitive? Deeply disturbing or deeply fascinating? Reviews are split over Eric Steel's unique documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge, a wonder of the modern world and a notorious suicide target ”
More voices
“The stories are dramatic, the interviewees moving. And the images - they often follow the bodies on their way down to the water - are startling and devastating. [...] The Bridge is undeniably strong material. But whether it is particularly helpful is less clear. "
“Through interviews with friends and families of those affected, Steel reminds us that no matter how lonely these people feel, they have never been without the people they loved. It is a loving and impressive work. "
“ The Bridge raises inescapable questions about the filmmaker's motives and methods, and whether he could have worked harder to save lives. The age-old moral and aesthetic questions arise about the detachment from one's own environment, which the view through the lens of the camera tends to generate.
[…] The sadness and fatalism that the film can trigger are best expressed by describing a loved one:
“Some people say the body is a temple. He thought his body was a prison. In his heart of hearts he knew that he was loved, that he had everything and could do anything. And yet he felt trapped and that this was the only way to free himself. ""
Jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge
→ see also: Golden Gate Bridge, Suizide
The Golden Gate Bridge is considered the most famous place for suicides worldwide. On average, a person jumps to their death here every two weeks . By May 2012 there were a total of over 1500 known suicides .
The deck is approximately 75 m (245 feet) above the waterline. After a fall of approximately four seconds, the jumpers hit the water at around 120 km / h (75 mph). The few who survive the initial impact mostly drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.
On average, only one in 50 survives the jump.
Web links
- The Bridge in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website: thebridge-themovie.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Tad Friend: "Jumpers" - The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge , The New Yorker , October 13, 2003
- ^ Nominated Gold Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival
- ↑ DVD Release: The Bridge, Koch Lorber Films, June 12, 2007, Region 1, UPC 741952312291
- ↑ a b c The Bridge - Director Eric Steel interview pt 1 (Youtube)
- ↑ a b c The Bridge - Director Eric Steel interview pt 2 (Youtube)
- ↑ In the film, the deceased are named with their full name and date of birth
- ↑ a b Stephen Holden: Review of The Bridge , The New York Times . Retrieved August 24, 2013
- ^ A b The Bridge of Death , ABC News , October 20, 2006
- ^ Controversy over The Bridge , kottke.org, May 1, 2006.
- ^ Film captures suicides on Golden Gate Bridge , Phillip Matier & Andrew Ross, San Francisco Chronicle , January 19, 2005.
- ↑ Director's year at suicide bridge (BBC)
- ↑ The Bridge Interview (BBC)
- ↑ YouTube Search Results: Ingrid Michaelson San Francisco >
- ↑ The Bridge at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ↑ Dennis Harvey: Review: The Bridge , Variety . Retrieved August 24, 2013
- ↑ Lisa Kennedy: Review of The Bridge , Denver Post. Retrieved August 24, 2013
- ↑ a b Neil Tweedie: Golden Gate Bridge is the world's most popular site for suicide: 'Just why do they make it so easy? , The Telegraph, May 26, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2013
- ↑ Catherine Philip: The bridge of suicide , The Times , February 28, 2007
- ↑ John Koopman: Lethal Beauty (series): No easy death: Suicide by bridge is gruesome, and death is almost certain. The fourth in a seven-part series on the Golden Gate Bridge barrier debate , San Francisco Chronicle , November 2, 2005. Retrieved August 24, 2013