La fille sur le pont
Encyclopedia
Girl on the Bridge is a 1999 French film shot in black and white and directed by Patrice Leconte
, starring Daniel Auteuil
and Vanessa Paradis
.
Gabor (Auteuil) and a girl called Adèle (Paradis), who intends to kill herself by jumping from a bridge. Gabor, who may also be about to jump from the bridge, intervenes to prevent the suicide
and persuades Adèle to become the target girl
in his knifethrowing act
. The film then follows their relationship as they travel around Europe with the act. Their companionship and teamwork mean great luck for both of them. Then they get separated and their lives once again become luckless. The film ends on a bridge in Istanbul
, this time with her saving him from suicide.
distribution rights to this film and gave it a limited U.S. theatrical release on July 28, 2000; the film went on to gross $1,708,839 in U.S. theaters, which was a good result for a non-English film. Ruth Vitale (president of Paramount Classics at that time) declared herself pleased with the film's performance in the U.S. market. However, Paramount did not release the film on DVD
until July 2008.
Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.-Biography:...
, starring Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil is a French film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Algiers, French Algeria.-Career:...
and Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. She became a child star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single "Joe le taxi"...
.
Plot
The plot centres around knifethrowerKnife throwing
Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.-A throwing knife:...
Gabor (Auteuil) and a girl called Adèle (Paradis), who intends to kill herself by jumping from a bridge. Gabor, who may also be about to jump from the bridge, intervenes to prevent the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and persuades Adèle to become the target girl
Target girl
Target girl is a term sometimes used in circus and vaudeville to denote a female assistant in "impalement" acts such as knife throwing, archery or sharpshooting. The assistant stands in front of a target board or is strapped to a moving board and the impalement artist throws knives or shoots...
in his knifethrowing act
Impalement arts
Impalement arts are a type of performing art in which a performer plays the role of human target for a fellow performer who demonstrates accuracy skills in disciplines such as knife throwing and archery. Impalement is actually what the performers endeavour to avoid - the thrower or marksman aims...
. The film then follows their relationship as they travel around Europe with the act. Their companionship and teamwork mean great luck for both of them. Then they get separated and their lives once again become luckless. The film ends on a bridge in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, this time with her saving him from suicide.
Cast
- Vanessa ParadisVanessa ParadisVanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. She became a child star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single "Joe le taxi"...
as Adèle - Daniel AuteuilDaniel AuteuilDaniel Auteuil is a French film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Algiers, French Algeria.-Career:...
as Gabor - Frédéric Pfluger as Contortionist
- Demetre Georgalas as Takis
- Catherine Lascault as Irene
- Isabelle Petit-Jacques as Bride
- Mireille Mossé as Miss Memory
- Didier Lemoine as TGVTGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
ticket conductor - Mylène FarmerMylène FarmerMylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
as Irene (uncredited guest appearance in a hallway and beside the stage) - Bertie Cortez as Kusak
- Stéphane Metzger as Italian waiter
- Claude Aufaure as Suicide victim
- Farouk Bermouga as TGV waiter
- Nicolas Donato as Mr. Loyal
- Enzo Etokyo as Italian megaphone
- Giorgios Gatzios as Barker
Release
Paramount Classics acquired the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
distribution rights to this film and gave it a limited U.S. theatrical release on July 28, 2000; the film went on to gross $1,708,839 in U.S. theaters, which was a good result for a non-English film. Ruth Vitale (president of Paramount Classics at that time) declared herself pleased with the film's performance in the U.S. market. However, Paramount did not release the film on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
until July 2008.
External links
- Girl on the Bridge at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Official Site (US)