Review of The Girl on the Bridge (1999) by Dryorophus — 05 Dec 2009

The Girl on the Bridge, directed by Patrice Leconte, is a amusing, touching moving, visually stunning meditative work on solitude, fortune, and salvation. The film blazes a trail through Paris, Italy, Monaco, and Istanbul, adding contortionists, other circus performers on the way and a little bit taste of Greece.

Vanessa Paradis (simple perfect) and Daniel Auteuil (what a great performance) star in this film which is greater example of European cinema. It is a French black and white road movie with adventure through Europe. Paradis plays Adele, a lost soul for whom brief affairs (and when we say brief meaning a few minutes to a few days) that serve only to lead her on to the next guy who will, hopefully, offer something more than his penis. She is an unlucky, visceral girl who does not beg for pity. Seeking an end to her misfortune, she decides one night in Paris to jump into the Seine. Along comes Gabor (Daniel Auteuil), who stops and offers her a proposition: since she has nothing to lose at this point, why not join him. He is a knife-thrower and she is to be his target. He tells her luck is his especially in a try to save her but she jumps anyway, and he goes in after her. Their relationship has just begun. This is not a sexual relationship?though the intensity and trust involved during the knife throwing create a fiery atmosphere. Their seduction of each other is not sexual, though it is physical even if they don't touch, and above all heartfelt. Neither Adele nor Gabor is seeking sexual pleasure, though Adele's persistent liaisons are almost funny in their lack of passion. The knife throwing scenes are most intense. The public has tired of mere knife throwing, so Gabor must up the ante. Adele is covered with a white sheet-he aims for her silhouette. Adele is placed on a spinning wheel-again his aim is perfect. The trust shared between them is immeasurable and makes most modern day love stories about as compelling ?as telephone commercials?. The scene where Gabor's eyes are blazed out in a line of white light is rendered well, but shots more subtle in their gradation suffer in the translation. Camera loves Vanessa. It is clear that is one of the most beautiful a woman can look in the movies and I think that she's the idealized waif of every lonely boy's fantasy.....The Girl On the Bridge follows some standards guidelines of romantic comedy with some interesting variations and rhythms. There are those who will immediately assume that because the film is French, it must contain deep philosophical musings, but that's not really the case. Yes! The film tickles the underbelly of things like fate and chance, but he never does much with these weighty issues. This is not a deep exploration of the existential aspect of humanity's nature. Instead, it's a quirky love story that appeals more to the emotions than to the intellect. It is an exploration of love, luck, telepathy, and is a charm film from start to finish.