The Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco is probably the most famous bridge in the world. This iconic structure has appeared in a lot of movies and has been wrecked by a lot of different causes (tsunamis, monsters etcetera). In real life the bridge looks impressive and I’ve driven over it (both by car and on a bike). But despite its status and it’s beautiful surroundings it’s also a spot where a lot of people decide to jump off it to end their lives.
This means that The Bridge, which filmed during the whole of 2004 where cameras where pointed at the bridge, not an easy documentary to watch. The fact that someone robs himself of his own life is something which already is incomprehensible, but becomes even more difficult when you actually see it happen. You wonder what is going through someone’s mind the moment they decide to climb over that railing en hit the water a couple of seconds later. Those are also the questions the ones who have been left behind ask themselves, who share their emotions. There is disbelief, sadness and anger because their loved ones make this decision. People are also interviewed who witnessed someone jumping as well as a 20-year-old who has jumped as well, but has survived it and is able to share his experience.
You might call the documentary voyeuristic, but director Eric Steel wanted to capture reality. His team kept their eyes on the bridge for people acting strangely and called the police when they suspected someone wanted to jump. In the end they managed to save six people. But the footage of people jumping are the ones you remember most making it a very moving film. Like those left behind you might not get the answers you are looking for, like why someone makes such a huge decision. It makes it a documentary which stays with you for a while after seeing it.
