Director: Patrice Leconte
"I like to make movies about people who might, on the surface, seem banal but who in fact are filled with marvels. They are simple people who have the same emotions, sensibilities, doubts, sadness and joy that I do." Patrice Leconte
At once a cleverly entertaining fairy tale set to the pace of a thriller and a breezy romantic screwball comedy that recalls old Hollywood, The Girl on The Bridge directed by Patrice Leconte is — for my money — the most satisfying film of the summer.
Vanessa Paradis — who is a famous model and pop singer in France — plays Adele, a luckless young woman who decides that since her life has been nothing but a string of failures she is going to take her life by jumping from a bridge. An older man named Gabor (Daniel Auteuil) approaches her and, liking the fact that she is a reckless woman, convinces her that she will have better luck letting him throw knives at her in his circus act than she will if she goes into the cold water below.
She jumps anyway. But he follows behind and saves her life. They end up in the hospital together recovering from hypothermia and thus their adventure begins. He convinces her — with a few little tricks — she is indeed lucky and that she will bring him good fortune.
Gabor is all business, rarely smiles, chain smokes and is always on the go. Adele is happy-go-lucky, easily impressionable and utterly trusting toward his motives. They are complete opposites but together they make a great act. And, what's more, as the relationship blossoms they begin to share an extraordinary faculty to mentally communicate with one another through telepathy.
Despite all the film's style and skill it doesn't belie the fact that the film treads over both Svengali (or Lolita) territory and rags to riches cliches, but it all works without making the audience feel cheated or weary. Part of this is because at the heart of the film's subject is how we control the role of fate and luck in our lives. And more importantly how we can help one another to achieve this control. Both of which are concepts that a fantasy can achieve quite well.
Knife throwing has never been as erotic as it is here. It even stands in for sex in a couple of scenes. At one point she says to him, "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, let's go someplace and do it." And it takes a while to realize that she's not talking about having sex but rather about the exhilaration they feel when he hurls knives at her.
Stylistically, The Girl on The Bridge -- with the use of beautiful black and white cinematography, dazzling editing and a tear inducing musical score -- feels like a fairy tale too. Fortunately though, Leconte doesn't undermine the material by overdoing the sappy or the fantastic elements.
Director Partice Leconte has directed 17 previous feature films including two, The Hairdresser's Husband and Ridicule, which were very successful foreign films released here in the 90's. This one is as equally smart and charming as the other two and only time will tell if it catches on with American audiences.
Few filmmakers are able to combine real solid filmmaking skills with the light-hearted fun of what some might consider a throwaway comedy. And fewer still can make a film that can bridge the gap between the mainstream and the foreign film crowds. With this film Leconte may do it. The Girl on The Bridge -- similar to last year's run away foreign success Run Lola Run-- is potentially this year's cross over foreign film hit.
- Matt Langdon
