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October 2006
THE BRIDGE

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By Kam Williams

THE BRIDGE

Distributor: First Stripe Productions
Rated R for profanity and for disturbing footage of actual suicides.
Running time: 93 minutes

Haunting Documentary Dedicated to Golden Gate Jumpers

If you wanted to end it all, where would you want to do it? For some reason, more people choose the Golden Gate Bridge than any other locale. And after watching The Bridge one can easily understand the allure of that irresistible icon as a launching pad into San Francisco Bay.

Directed by Eric Steel, this fascinating film transfixes you from start to finish, focusing on the 24 individuals who chose to end there lives in 2004. One, Kevin Hines, 25, somehow survived, after being saved by a seal who kept him floating till help arrived. The others weren’t so lucky, but that doesn’t make their stories any less compelling.
What these unfortunate souls seem to have in common is a bottoming-out whether due to depression, unemployment, relationship woes, or all of the above. Shifting back and forth between shots of the majestic, rust-colored structure and wistful reminiscences by friends and family who invariably had hints as to what was coming, the clever director creates an eerie, kinetic experience for the viewer by constantly capturing plenty of tourists and pedestrians leaning over the catwalk, peering into the void from the fog-ensconced bridge.

You never know which in the throng is about to leap to his or her death, so you have to keep your eyes glued to the screen, guessing who might be next. Two dozen souls, linked by suicide as a seductive, and very visible alternative to unrelenting torment and suffering.

Excellent (4 stars)

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