Girl on the Bridge (1999) La fille sur le pont (original title)

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Serge Frydman (dialogue)
Serge Frydman (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 1999 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows...

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Seine River | Bridge | Knife Thrower | Tears

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Vanessa Paradis	...	Adèle
Daniel Auteuil	...	Gabor
Frédéric Pfluger	...	Contortionist
Demetre Georgalas	...	Takis
Catherine Lascault	...	Irene
Isabelle Petit-Jacques	...	Bride
Mireille Mossé	...	Miss Memory
Didier Lemoine	...	TGV Ticket Conductor
Bertie Cortez	...	Kusak
Stéphane Metzger	...	Italian Waiter
Claude Aufaure	...	Suicide Victim
Farouk Bermouga	...	TGV Waiter
Nicolas Donato	...	Mr. Loyal
Enzo Etokyo	...	Italian Megaphone
Giorgios Gatzios	...	Barker
Pierre-François Martin-Laval	...	Fireman #1
Franck Monsigny	...	Intern
Boris Napes	...	The Barman
Luc Palun	...	Stage Manager
Jacques Philipson	...	Guy in T-Shirt
Jean-Paul Rouvray	...	Fireman #2
Philippe Sire	...	Hotel Concierge
Natasha Solignac	...	Nurse
Isabelle Spade	...	Casino Woman
Jacques Vertan	...	Clown
Bruno Villien	...	Casino Neighbor

Directed by
Patrice Leconte

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Serge Frydman		dialogue
Serge Frydman		screenplay

Produced by
Christian Fechner	....	producer
Hervé Truffaut	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Jean-Marie Dreujou

Film Editing by
Joëlle Hache

Production Design by
Ivan Maussion

Costume Design by
Annie Périer

Makeup Department
Véronique Boitout	....	hair stylist
Christophe Danchaud	....	key makeup artist
Joël Lavau	....	key makeup artist
John Nollet	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Catherine Adart	....	post-production manager
Daniel Baschieri	....	production manager
Yorick Kalbache	....	unit manager
Grégory Valais	....	unit manager trainee

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Grégoire Barachin	....	assistant director
Marianne Capian	....	assistant director
Jacques Pasquier	....	trainee assistant director
Emmanuel Roussille	....	assistant director

Art Department
Virginie Denis Roy	....	assistant decorator (as Virginie Denis)
Ludovic Garçon	....	painter
Nicolas Raffy	....	property master

Sound Department
Jean-Philippe Angelini	....	post-synchronization assistant
Serge Ardos	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Fanchon Brulé	....	dialogue editor
Pascal Chauvin	....	sound effects
Pascal Dedeye	....	sound effects assistant
Michel Filippi	....	post-synchronization engineer
Jean Goudier	....	sound
Katrina Heaulme	....	post-synchronization assistant
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound
Jean-Paul Hurier	....	sound mixer
Jean-Paul Hurier	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Lainé	....	sound
Jean-Louis Lebras	....	post-synchronization boom operator
Peggy Rivoallan	....	trainee sound operator
Hervé Roux	....	DTS consultant
Sandrine Strauss	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Séverine De Wever	....	production coordinator
Jean-Pierre Grandet	....	special effects accessories
Philippe Hubin	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Alain Carsoux	....	visual effects director
Stéphanie Dargent	....	matte painter
Thomas Duval	....	visual effects supervisor
Xavier Fourmond	....	digital compositor
Frederic Medioni	....	digital compositor
Antoine Simkine	....	visual effects executive producer: Duboi
Georges Tornero	....	digital compositor
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital effects artist
Rip Hampton O'Neil	....	director of reseach and development: DuboiColor (uncredited)

Stunts
Rémi Canaple	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Rémi Canaple	....	stunts
Patrick Cauderlier	....	stunts
Elisabeth Joinet	....	stunts
Roland Neunreuther	....	stunts
Alain Vilain	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Florent Bazin	....	first assistant camera
Frédéric Bergé	....	grip
Alexandre Bon	....	assistant camera
Catherine Cabrol	....	still photographer
Renaud Chassaing	....	second assistant camera
Patrick Gasché	....	electrician
Marie Gennesseaux	....	video controller
Axel Jenneson	....	grip
Raphael Jourdan	....	grip
Patrice Leconte	....	camera operator
Pierre Mery	....	grip
Pascal Morisset	....	assistant camera: underwater cinematography
Michel Méry	....	grip
Charlet Recors	....	aerial director of photography (as Charles Recors)
Jean-Claude Reux	....	chief electrician
Michel Revest	....	assistant camera: underwater cinematography
Roland Savoye	....	underwater cinematographer
Denis Scozzesi	....	key grip
Gilbert Seybald	....	electrician
Antoine Vidal	....	crane operator: Louma crane

Casting Department
Geneviève Acien	....	extras casting assistant
Catherine Deserbais	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marie Foulon	....	costumes trainee
Tess Hammami	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Olivier Fontenay	....	color timer
Isabelle Julien	....	color timer
Yvan Lucas	....	color timer
Denis Parrot	....	editor trainee
Sylvie Van der Vorm	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Didier Lizé	....	music mixer

Other crew
Tony Baldridge	....	technical supervisor: Legend Films, Inc.
Anne Barbier	....	assistant location manager
Tahar Boualam	....	groupman
Danielle Dumanoir	....	production secretary
Jean-Marc Dupuy	....	assistant manager
Christine Janeau	....	assistant manager
Florence Jennert	....	juridical director
Jean-Claude Landon	....	assistant manager
Philippe Lévy	....	production administrator
Maggie Perlado	....	script supervisor
Isabelle Sauvanon	....	press attache
Lucie Truffaut	....	trainee script supervisor
Didier Warin	....	locksmith

Production Companies

• Canal+
• France 2 Cinéma
• Les Films Christian Fechner
• Sofica Sofinergie 5
• UGCF

Distributors

• Eurocine (2000) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Keyfilms Roma
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Paramount Classics (2000) (USA) (subtitled)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (France)
• Wise Policy (1999) (Japan) (all media)

Also Known As:

"La fille sur le pont" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Italian | Greek

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Germany:12 (f) | Finland:S (video rating) | Canada:18A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

The opening sequence lasts for more than 7 minutes with a monologue by Vanessa Paradis. In the DVD commentary, director 'Patrice Leconte' says that a single shot was necessary using several cameras.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the hospital where Adele and Gabor bet on the fly, the wagered watch is on the desk before Gabor hands it to Adele. In the next shot the watch is back on the desk.

Soundtrack:

Land der Berge, Land am Strome - Austrian National Anthem

An erotic, funny, strikingly original romantic comedy

The old Hollywood formula, Boy Meets Girl, Cute, is given a nice French twist is this very funny and intriguing romantic comedy starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. Paradis is Adele, a twenty-something waif who looks like a Parisian model except for the charming and disarming gap between her two front teeth. She's sur la pont and looking to jump off into the Seine. Auteuil appears as Gabor, a forty-something carnival knife thrower, looking for a new and more exciting target. He taunts her a little, shames her a bit. She gets insulted and jumps. He jumps in right after her.

Well, I have it on good report that Nora Ephron is jealous as hell. I mean wouldn't, say, Meg Ryan and Mel Gibson just be adorable meeting like this?

I...don't...think...so. For one thing, this would never work in the American cinema since one of the essentials is that the "boy" be twenty years older than the "girl" so that his patience with her frequent liaisons is plausible. Hollywood would have to find another slant on their relationship (something banal no doubt) and alter the ending to make it more romantic. But Hollywood can do that! Watch for the remake--a Nancy Meyers film, directed by Ephron--in theaters everywhere, circa 2010.

Since the script, containing some very witty dialogue by Serge Frydman, and the fine acting by Auteuil and Paradis, carry the show, Director Patrice Leconte was able to film this on the cheap in glorious black and white, which doesn't detract from the film at all. I didn't really notice there was no color until about twenty minutes in because I was so taken with, first, Paradis as the girl who could never say no, and then Auteuil who is funny, commanding, and obviously having a great time. By the way, the device of her being interviewed to open the film makes us think for a moment that we are being shown a video recording of that interview. Following a well-established cinematic convention of rendering video recordings in black and white, this makes our minds accept the black and white cinematography without question.

Paradis is child-like and sexy by turns. The scene after the train passes and she says to Gabor something like, "You KNOW what I want to do, and I want to do it NOW," leads to a rather strange, but clearly erotic, symbolic sexual experience. Paradis plays her part very well.

The theme is the mystery of capricious luck, believed in passionately by those who feel they have none, which is how Adele and Gabor feel before they meet each other. Together, however, they can call the number at roulette, win at the lottery, and find gold on the ground!

The enigmatic and rather predictable ending warrants some pondering. Are they going to live happily ever after as man and wife, lovers, or as a kind of father/daughter team? It's not clear, and that's deliberate. Draw your own conclusions, but don't miss this one. It's definitely worth seeing.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)