Girl on the Bridge

Girl on the Bridge
United States theatrical poster
Directed by	Patrice Leconte
Written by	Serge Frydman
Produced by	Christian Fechner
Starring	Daniel Auteuil Vanessa Paradis
Cinematography	Jean-Marie Dreujou
Edited by	Joëlle Hache
Distributed by	UGC Fox Distribution
Release date	March 31, 1999 (1999-03-31) (France)^[1]
Running time	90 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Box office	$5.1 million

The Girl on the Bridge (French: La fille sur le pont)^[2] is a 1999 French drama film^[3] shot in black and white and directed by Patrice Leconte, starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis.

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Plot

After an interview sequence with a girl, the plot centres around knifethrower Gabor (Auteuil) and the girl, called Adèle (Paradis), whom he meets as she prepares to kill herself by jumping from a bridge. Gabor 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 to Monaco then into Italy and onto a cruise ship with their act. Their companionship and teamwork mean great luck for both of them. Then they get separated, she to Greece and he to Turkey, and their lives once again become luckless. The film ends on a bridge in Istanbul, this time with her saving him from suicide.

Cast

Vanessa Paradis as Adèle
Daniel Auteuil as Gabor
Frédéric Pfluger as Contortionist
Demetre Georgalas as Takis
Catherine Lascault as Irène
Isabelle Petit-Jacques as Bride
Mireille Mossé as Miss Memory
Didier Lemoine as TGV ticket conductor
Mylène Farmer (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

Music

The soundtrack consists entirely of existing music, with Who Will Take My Dreams Away by Marianne Faithfull, I'm Sorry by Brenda Lee and Goodbye in a version of Benny Goodman recurring during the film. Other music includes other numbers by Benny Goodman and Noro Morales, Festival in Valencia by Charles Smitton, Italian music by the Orchestra Secondo Casadei, Turkish music from the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble, and the Austrian National Anthem.

Release

The film grossed 22.6 million Franc ($3.4 million) in France.^[4] Paramount Classics acquired the United States 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,^[5] 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.^[6] However, Paramount did not release the film on DVD until July 2008.

Daniel Auteuil won a César as best actor for his role in 2000, and a similar prize at the Festival de Sant Jordi in 2001. The film won the Prix du public at the Cinemania festival in Montréal in 1999 and the best foreign film at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards in 2000.

The action of the film proper begins on the Passerelle Debilly in Paris, and ends on the Galata Bridge in Istanbul.

References

^ page for La Fille sur le pont (1998) at Ciné-Ressources website accessed 10 March 2020.
^ The British Film Institute page for the film La Fille sur le pont and the Pathè DVD (2000) give the title in English as The Girl on the Bridge.
^ The 2000 Pathè DVD describes the film as a 'romantic comedy'; British Film Institute page for the film categorize it under 'comedy' and 'romance'.
^ Meaux Saint Marc, Francoise (10 December 1999). "France: Top 10 Local Production Companies 1999". Screen International. p. 19.
^ "Girl on the Bridge (1999) - Box office / business". IMDb. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
^ "Foreign-language fare lost in B.O. translation". Variety. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2014.