Girl on the Bridge (1999) - Patrice Leconte
Related: Patrice Leconte - 1999 - French cinema
In search of hope and hopelessness
"Vous avez l'air d'une fille qui va faire une connerie" (Eng: You look like a girl who is about to commit a terrible mistake.) --Daniel Auteuil
Girl on the Bridge (1999) - Patrice Leconte
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]At the beginning of the film, the character played by Vanessa Paradis is about to throw herself off a bridge when she is asked by Daniel Auteuil: "Why are you doing this?" Vanessa's character answers: "Because I am desperate" and than retorts: "What are you doing here?". Auteuil answers: "I am looking for desperate women."
Description
La fille sur le pont (The Girl On the Bridge) is a French film released in 1999, directed by Patrice Leconte, starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fille_sur_le_pont [Sept 2006]
Parallels with comments by Hans Bellmer on his relationship with Unica Zürn:
"One can see me as the type of man with antennae that can pick up a potential woman-victim ... It remains to be seen if I immediately, from the first time we met, "sensed" that Unica was a victim. If Unica seriously asked herself this question, which she may have done, she would, I think, reply YES!" --Hans Bellmer in a letter to Dr Ferdière, a psychiatrist, in 1964.
Review
Adelle grew up believing sex is what life is all about, and so she never learned how to say "no" to any man or boy. Daniel Auteuil (Gabor) is an over 40 year old, tall, dark, contemplative knife throwing artiste who never smiles and has haunting eyes. After Adelle opens the film with a wryly amusing monologue on the failure of her life, an early scene places her perched in the middle of a bridge over the River Seine on a wintry night. Just as she is about to jump into the icy water, Gabor's voice comes out of the dark, "you don't really want to make this mistake." Adelle is annoyed at this intrusion, and she argues with Gabor about her intentions and his meddling. Gabor is a knife thower, he informs Adelle, and bridges are where he finds the best women candidates to serve as his targets for his dangerous art form. Adelle shrugs this off, accusing Gabor of trying to take sexual advantage of a desperate girl on a bridge. He indignantly dismisses her charge saying that he NEVER sleeps with his targets. "That's YOUR problem!" retorts Adelle. And so begins their relationship. [...] F. Sweet via amazon.com
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