Girl on the Bridge | |
---|---|
Directed by | Patrice Leconte |
Written by | Serge Frydman |
Produced by | Christian Fechner |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jean-Marie Dreujou |
Edited by | Joëlle Hache |
Distributed by | UGC Fox Distribution |
Release date |
|
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.
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.
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.
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.
Boulogne-Billancourt is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located 8.2 km (5 mi) from the centre of Paris. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and thus the seat of the larger arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. It is also part of the Métropole du Grand Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt includes two large islands in the Seine: Île Saint-Germain and Île Seguin. With a population of 121,334 as of 2018, it is the most populous commune in Hauts-de-Seine and most populous suburb of Paris, as well as one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.
The Gaumont Film Company, often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in the world, established before other studios such as Pathé, Titanus (1904), Nordisk Film (1906), Universal, Paramount, and Nikkatsu.
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis became a star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest honours as both a singer and an actress with the Prix Romy Schneider and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Jean-Claude Brisseau's Noce Blanche, as well as the Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Singer for her album Variations sur le même t'aime. Her most notable films also include Élisa (1995) alongside Gérard Depardieu, Witch Way Love (1997) opposite Jean Reno, Une chance sur deux (1998) co-starring with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, Girl on the Bridge (1999), Heartbreaker (2010), Café de Flore (2011) and Yoga Hosers (2016), directed by Kevin Smith. Her tribute to Jeanne Moreau at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival during which they sang in duet "Le Tourbillon" became notable in French popular culture. In 2022, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play Maman.
Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand, or ride at a carnival. The term "showie" is used synonymously in Australia, while "showman" is used in the United Kingdom.
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of phonograph records. In 1908, Pathé invented the newsreel that was shown in cinemas before a feature film.
Patrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.
Gábor Csupó is a Hungarian-American animator, writer, director, producer and graphic designer. He is co-founder of the animation studio Klasky Csupo, which has produced shows like Rugrats, Duckman, Stressed Eric, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.
"Sur le Pont d'Avignon" is a French song about a dance performed on the Pont d'Avignon that dates back to the 15th century. The dance actually took place under the bridge and not on the bridge.
Victoires de la Musique is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz versions are the Victoires de la musique classique and Victoires du Jazz.
The Gang's All Here is a 1943 American Twentieth Century Fox Technicolor musical film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and James Ellison. The film, directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, is known for its use of musical numbers with fruit hats. Included among the 10 highest-grossing films of that year, it was at that time Fox's most expensive production.
The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American psychological romantic drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola in her feature directorial debut, and co-produced by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. It stars James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, A.J. Cook, and Josh Hartnett, with Scott Glenn, Michael Paré, Jonathan Tucker, and Danny DeVito in supporting roles.
The 26th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 2000, were given in December 2000.
"Sing, Sing, Sing " is a 1936 song, with music and lyrics by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with the New Orleans Gang. Brunswick Records released it on February 28, 1936 on the 78 rpm record format, with "It's Been So Long" as the B-side. The song is strongly identified with the big band and swing eras. Several have performed the piece as an instrumental, including Fletcher Henderson and, most famously, Benny Goodman.
Isild Le Besco is a French actress and filmmaker. She is of French and Algerian descent on her mother's side, and Vietnamese and Breton on her father's.
Pierre-François Martin-Laval is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and theatre director. PEF is well known in France for his acting performances in musical comedy but also in serious plays. He studied at the famous French school of acting Cours Florent. During his drama studies he met the friends with whom he formed the comedy team 'Les Robins des Bois' in 1996. Initially called The Royal Imperial Green Rabbit Company, they renamed themselves after their first significant success, a play entitled Robins des bois.
Christian Fechner was a French film producer, screenwriter and director.
Daniel Bevilacqua, better known by the stage name Christophe, was a French singer and songwriter. He was born in the Paris suburb of Juvisy-sur-Orge, to an Italian father.
Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond was an author, philanthropist, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family, and mother of music producer John Hammond. She was a keen musician and was president of numerous charitable societies.
Michael Pitiot is a French screenwriter and film director. He lives and works in France.
The 34th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival took place from 2 to 10 July 1999. The Crystal Globe was won by Yana's Friends, an Israeli comedy-drama film directed by Arik Kaplun. The second prize, the Special Jury Prize was won by Show Me Love, a Swedish comedy-drama film directed by Lukas Moodysson. French film director and scriptwriter Yves Boisset was the president of the jury.