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Reel World: The Bridge
Troubled 'Bridge' over water
By Clarke Reader
creader3@mscd.edu

The Metropolitan archive photos The Bridge 93 minutes Not rated Opens Feb. 9 at Starz FilmCenter

The minute his feet left the steel and his body flew into the air, Kevin Hines realized that he did not want to die.

Although he broke his lower back, Hines survived the jump. His failed suicide attempt became one of the focal points of The Bridge, director Eric Steel’s documentary about the dark aspects of one of America’s signature landmarks.

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is a stunning architectural achievement and one of America’s most recognizable landmarks. Yet every now and then clouds from the bay float in, turning this national treasure into a dark, skeletal, looming presence that can barely be seen through the mist.

That’s exactly the image that The Bridge seeks to create. The film is about people who use the Golden Gate Bridge as a place to commit suicide, making it – according to the film – the place where more people chose to end their lives than anywhere else in the world.

The film juxtaposes interviews with friends and family of people who jumped from the bridge in 2004 with idyllic scenes of the picturesque beauty of the bridge and its surroundings.

The Bridge is worth at least one viewing to gain a deeper insight into those who struggle with these problems. For those who have a hard time with intense and disturbing films, however, this may not be the way to go. There are even a few scenes of people jumping.

For those who can handle the graphic footage and morose subtexts, The Bridge is a stirring look into the eyes of a growing problem in society and a thoughtful meditation on its solutions.

The interviews spotlight separate stages of the grieving process, from denial that a loved one made the decision to take their own life to parents attempting to justify why their child did it. The rationales of the people dealing with their grief are difficult to comprehend, but that’s the source of the film’s power.

The people discussed in the film seem alienated from and disillusioned with the world around them. The Bridge serves as a kind of warning about what happens when feelings of solitude take root and continue to grow unabated.

Hines’ firsthand account of the reasoning behind his suicide attempt and the moments leading up to the actual jump is both terrifying and fascinating.

Suicide is always a sensitive topic, but the film handles it tastefully. It is honest and blunt, with no sugarcoating. It allows the audience to see that a suicide does not merely end one life, but profoundly affects the day-to-day realities of families and loved ones.

Some find religion, others acceptance, and some get mired in guilt over what they could have done to help the person. All are left groping for answers.

It’s an emotional punch in the gut, a film that probably won’t be viewed repeatedly. Even as this film will open many viewers’ eyes to a serious problem, it will forever transform the image of the Golden Gate Bridge in many viewers’ minds.