Bridge, The

 

Story:

Over the span of a year, director Eric Steel's cameras capture tormented souls attempting to commit suicide by leaping from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Through poignant interviews with family, friends and eyewitnesses, the film reveals a common thread of depression, despair and chronic mental illness. This provocative documentary further reinforces the landmark's iconic legacy as the world's most popular suicide destination (Netflix).

Review:

The Bridge is one of those few films that threads the needle of captured death on film, avoiding the stigma of shock journalism and snuff films.  Unfortunately, most people will unjustifiably equate it to one of these two genres after hearing a summary of the film.  Let’s get one thing straight, this is not a film for the weak of heart.  You will see people leap to their deaths and the feelings of terror, horror and shock are only outweighed by the obvious reality of a simple fact: you cannot help them. 

I have to be honest, my immediate response was a desire to reach out and help, call 9-11, something, anything.  This was followed by anger, questioning why people didn’t do more- how people could be so insensitive as to witness these people’s despair and do little to help them.  Then I heard their stories, told through family members and friends and by the end of it all I was on the verge of weeping.  This is not an easy documentary to deal with, but its impact on our ability as a society to understand suicide is undeniably powerful.  I do not say it lightly when I say you will be affected by what you see.

That isn’t to say this is a depressing documentary.  It is real and it is raw, but there will be moments where you see hope and even redemption.  What director Eric Steel does best is not just show these deaths and the pain that swirls from it, but he also shows that there is something to gain from just sitting back and empathizing with these men and women.  You not only appreciate life, but nature and our inherent right to desperately help others.

Nature, for one, dominates The Bridge.  Throughout this entire film of suicide jumpers, we repeatedly see shots of families relaxing, kids playing and life continuing, and amidst all this we see the Golden Gate Bridge.  It’s history and greatness are stripped away, along with the natural beauty of all the other shots.  We as an audience become disconnected with these images, seeing and understanding what we’re supposed to feel, but unable to feel.  Instead, all we see is a giant steel structure and the distant echo of laughter and happiness off of it.  I’m not trying to be melodramatic, these are actually the feelings I experienced.  You might find it terrifying to experience this, and it is, but this is why Eric Steel’s film is so powerful.  You, for the first time, will feel what many victims of depression and suicidal tendencies feel: disconnected.

The result is, as one interviewee put it, “[In the end] I don’t know why people kill themselves… but it’s a small step to empathize.”  Yes The Bridge is controversial and it deals with a controversial subject that most would rather ignore, but if you’re willing to watch and examine you will find that Eric Steel’s film offers the subject a breadth and depth that goes way beyond the simple numbers and off handed remarks we hear everyday.

Reviewed by Matthew Abshire for Documentary Film Online on March 15, 2008

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