Lulu on the Bridge (1998)

A famous jazz saxophonist whose life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot.

Director:

Paul Auster

Writer:

Paul Auster

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Richard Edson, Don Byron

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	Izzy Maurer
Richard Edson	...	Dave Reilly
Don Byron	...	Tyrone Lord
Kevin Corrigan	...	Man With Gun
Mira Sorvino	...	Celia Burns
Victor Argo	...	Pierre
Peggy Gormley	...	Dr. Fisher
Harold Perrineau	...	Bobby Perez
Gina Gershon	...	Hannah
Sophie Auster	...	Sonia Kleinman
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Catherine Moore
Mandy Patinkin	...	Philip Kleinman
Greg Johnson	...	Stanley Mar
David Byrne	...	'Laughing Man' Escort
Holly Buczek	...	Dying Girl

Storyline

A jazz saxophonist loses his capability to play when he is injured in a shooting at a café where he was playing. He sinks into depression when everyone charges in to take care of him, including his ex-wife. However, he discovers a stone with a telephone number attached. Returning the stone, he meets a young aspiring actress who in one of those film coincidences is listening to his music. Soon the two begin an affair which is fouled by his over-obsessiveness with her which costs them both a job at a restaurant.

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Plot Keywords:

stone | saxophonist | jazz | telephone number | actress | 

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Taglines:

Is she real? ..or did he make her up?

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, brief strong language and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1998 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Erotevmenoi eos tin aioniotita

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitol Films, Redeemable Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point Dr. Van Horn (Willem Defoe) writes on a scrap of paper: "Celia - s 'il y a". This pun is based on a similarity between a girl's name and a phrase in French meaning something like "if she exists" or "if she is there". It is a direct reference to Samuel Beckett's novel "Murphy" (1938): Celia, lover of an eponymous character, has an uncle, Mr. Willoughby Kelly, who comes up with this piece of bilingual wordplay. Paul Auster has consistently acknowledged Beckett's influence on his own oeuvre.

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Goofs

When Izzy is at Celia's apartment for the first time and closes the curtains to make it dark, there is a lot of light coming in even with the curtains closed. When they turn the lights off, the room is very dark.

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Quotes

Hannah: You still don't know who I am, do you? After all these years, you still don't have a clue.

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Connections

References La Grande Illusion (1937)

User Reviews

Actually, Kind Of Neutral On This Strange Film

This is mainly a two-actor film with Harvey Keitel playing a low-key (at least for him!) character and Mia Sorvino playing his young girlfriend. They dominate the story.

In an odd way, this is an interesting film although a bit "soapy" in parts for my tastes. It has a bit of a mystifying element with this strange stone as part of the story, yet they don't elaborate on it. Actually, this is more of a romance story....but at leaves a number of questions. One doesn't quite figure out Willem Dafoe's character is in here and the ending was very strange and not altogether satisfying, either. Perhaps another look or two would have been a better option before writing this. I haven't read any reviews but I suspect people really got into this film and liked it or were bored to death. Actually, I was somewhere in the middle. I was more interested in the cinematography.

Note: "Lulu" is named for a character played by silent screen star Louise Brooks.