People for the most part have a reputation for watching
movies with a ghoulish twist to them. The FACES OF DEATH films went from a cult
fan base to being watched by tons of people in the early days of video and are
still sought out by many. When people drive by the scene of an accident they
still slow down and glimpse to see if there were any fatalities. The reality is
that we’re not the sick people that some would have us believe but there is a
morbid curiosity with death and all things that surround it. Perhaps it’s just
our way of looking and then being thankful that it wasn’t us.
But there are times when it’s a good thing to see life and
the end of it as it really is. There are times when it can help us to
understand things that happen that cause death. Such is the case with THE
BRIDGE. Filmed over and entire year this movie captures the beauty and the
sadness that is found in the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. A monument to
engineering the bridge was an accomplishment not just of its time but of the
achievement that formed this structure. And yet it has taken on a new life as
one of the most used locations for people to commit suicide. That’s what this
film is about.
With a combination of filmed footage of people actually
jumping from the bridge melded with interviews with their friends and family
members, the movie attempts to decipher what it was that led these people to
make the decision to take their own lives. The most universal reason seems to
be mental health issues ranging from paranoid schizophrenia to depression. That
mixing of watching a person walking across the bridge, making the effort to
climb over the rail and then to actually jump with the words and faces of their
loved ones left behind shakes you to your core.
The movie also includes an interview with Kevin Hines, one
of those who jumped and yet survived. He realizes the things he thought he
couldn’t change were actually doable but he didn’t come to that realization
until after he jumped. Changing his mind in midair he altered his position,
landed in the water and though injured was able to swim nearly 50 feet to the
surface. In a twist of fate a sea lion swam around him and kept him afloat
until help could reach him. He says he will go to his grave thinking that this
was God stepping in. I tend to agree.
Those responsible for the making of the film were not just
sitting idly by while people jumped. When they could tell someone was about to
do so they contacted the bridge authorities to help stop them. But recognizing
someone about to jump wasn’t an easy thing to do. Some people climbed the rail
just to have a picture taken. One gentlemen in the film talks on his cell
phone, laughing, then closes it and puts it down, climbs the rail and
immediately jumps. Though short, it’s a stunning scene in the film.
Of all those seen in the film jumping the camera nearly
always cuts away before they hit the water. The fall is 245 feet and those
jumping are traveling at 75 miles per hour as their body hits the bay. It’s
been described as a speeding truck meeting a concrete building. While the view
of someone hitting isn’t the gory sight that jumping from a building to the
street would be, it is still disturbing. Of those witnessed in this film only
one jump is shot from start to finish and that jumper’s story is told from the
beginning of the film through to the end.
The inspiration for the film maker was an article that
talked about the jumpers from the bridge. It also discussed attempts to have
suicide barriers placed along the bridge so that those wishing to jump couldn’t
do so. Believe it or not the attempts to have those put in place were argued
against by people responsible for the bridge. The entire time I watched this
movie all I could think of was why wouldn’t you want to stop people from doing
this?
I know this movie won’t be for everyone. For anyone who has
lost someone to suicide it will be a difficult film to watch. At the same time
I think it’s important for people to see this film. If for no other reason than
to see what it is that would inspire someone to take their own life. There are
no clear cut signs that someone might do this and many of those interviewed had
no idea it would happen. Then again there were some that knew it was only a
matter of time. It would be nice to think that there was a way to help those
who need it, those dealing with any mental issues that would cause them to do
this, most notably depression which seems to run rampant these days.
I wouldn’t say this is an entertaining film but it is an
enlightening one. It does what a great documentary should do, it presents as
unbiased an opinion on its topic as can be expected but at the same time
realizes that there is a right and wrong involved in the story. As I said,
perhaps the main thing about this film is that as people watch maybe they’ll be
inspired to look at their friend, neighbor or family member they’ve been
concerned about and take a moment to let them know they’re there, to let them
know that if they need help they can be counted on. In the end this movie give
hope to the chance that people will walk away from it thinking about helping
someone else. I can’t think of a better objective for a movie to offer.
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