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Movie Review
Movie Review Monday
18Feb
The Bridge - Another Crossing
Feb 18, 2008 at 02:27PM A Most Compelling Documentary
Budd and I watched The Bridge again today. This was my third viewing, and his second. This extraordinary documentary, shot in 2004, is about people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Facts I didn't know before watching this movie: The Golden Gate Bridge is the most prolific suicide site in the world. In 2004, 24 people jumped from the bridge. In 2006, 33 jumped. Over 1200 have jumped since the opening of the bridge. 26 have survived.
When I first watched this movie last year, I was struck and somewhat angered by the lack of emotion that friends and family of the jumpers seemed to have. Here's the premise: Eric Steel, director, and his crew, set up cameras near the Golden Gate Bridge and, over the entirety of 2004, filmed 19 of the 24 known suicides. Six actual jumps are shown in the film, and although they do capture someone's death, the shots are not graphic in nature. During the filming, according to Wikipedia, one person jumped off the bridge every 15 days on average. Then the filmmaker tracked down family and friends of 6 of the jumpers and interviewed them without telling them they had footage of their loved one's death. Apparently this was revealed afterward, not without some controversy, since Steel had misled the Golden Gate Bridge Committee to receive his permit to film.
Another controversy, not covered in the film, is the long-standing fight over building a "suicide barrier" on the Golden Gate Bridge, as the rail along the bridge is a mere 4 feet high. Building such a barrier has been successful on other suicide spots, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, and the Prince Edward Viaduct, which has the Luminous Veil, pictured here:
I can't decide how I feel about veil construction on bridges. People I've talked to say, "If someone is going to commit suicide, they're going to do it anyway, so why construct a barrier?" I'm sure others think, if that barrier saves one life, then it's worth it.
What I can decide is that The Bridge is a beautiful, haunting documentary, photographed masterfully, treating a difficult subject with great care. After watching it this third time, I was more understanding of the difficulty those left behind have in expressing and dealing with their feelings. They wrestle with whether or not to feel guilty, angry or just accept that this was their loved one's choice. There is no forgetting, and moving on is obviously pretty tricky, too, especially for those living in close proximity to the bridge, as it is a constant reminder.
I love documentaries for their power to make you think about them long after watching them. I've seen a lot of documentaries, but I'd have to rate The Bridge as my favorite for its photography, choice of music, atmosphere, and treatment of this subject. It is, in my opinion, unforgettable.
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Reader Comments (6)
I don't know how many suicides a barrier might prevent but it would prevent those few who were pushed.
Define: cheap_shot Ans: Not replying to emails for the sole reason of forcing someone to read your blog. Could this be called "blognapping"? Gee, I wonder where my good friend could be? PLEASE EMAIL ME! You know the addy.
Pete,
I don't know who you are but Tina and Budd have both been very sick for several days running very high fevers and bed-ridden to the point that Tina had to postpone her surgery that was scheduled today.
Billy, it's ok, Pete is a dear friend and meant no harm
Tina, I didn't take Pete's comment as any sort of a bad thing, I just thought he might want to know.
Excellent review on the movie The Bridge My brother was found dead in front of a market. It wasn't a suicide but I still feel the sorrow every time I pass the place where he died. I can imagine how hard it would be for the family of someone who has committed suicide.
Thanks for the heads up on this movie. I'll put it on my list.
-Sunny