The Bridge

R

Released Oct 27, 2006

1 hr. 35 min.

Documentary

List

68%

59 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The majestic Golden Gate Bridge is one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, it also is a beacon to people, struggling with depression, addiction or mental illness, who leap to their deaths into the waters of the bay. Filmmaker Eric Steel documents those suicides and interviews some of the victims' grieving survivors.

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Critics Consensus

Tactlessly morbid or remarkably sensitive? Deeply disturbing or viscerally fascinating? Critics are divided on Eric Steele's unique documentary on the Golden Gate Bridge, wonder of the modern world and notorious suicide destination.

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Audience Member

very heartwrenching and disturbing The Golden Gate Bridge now serves as a beautiful landmark acheivement but also as a burden all the interviews involving people killing themselves attempt to dig deep into the motivations and reasons behind them just watching the footage alone should make the viewer stop and re-evaluate their priorities depending on the kind of life they are living now we have to put up with the fact that even in a gorgeous tourist hot-spot death is always present be advised this film is not for the faint of heart at all, the shocking realism of it all may be too much for most but it's the honest truth we live, we breathe, we die, we move on...is suicide the last remaining alternative to take when all else fails? this documentary really contemplates on dying by someone's own choice

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

DB C

I can't comprehend how the majority of people who watched this movie had no problem with it. Since when was it normal to film people's suicides and make a film out of it? How is this even legal? The director didn't even tell the families that they filmed there deceased loved ones deaths before interviewing them... Only at the premiere did the families find out what he put in that film. How could anyone think this film was made for a good cause? Since when did watching other people off themselves stop someone else from doing it too? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone reading these positive reviews. It's disgusting that a film like this was accepted by anybody and seen as anything other than a shockumentary. I really don't understand the thought process of anyone who had good things to say about this movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

Wayne K

In 2006, the Golden Gate Bridge was the world's No.1 suicide hotspot, a dubious distinction that now belongs to the Yangtse River Bridge in Nanjing. The Bridge is the result of a year's worth of filming at the eponymous structure, an endeavour that caught actual suicides, or ‘jumpers', on film. This has stirred debate as to whether the film is pure exploitation, in that its essentially profiting off the real-life misery and brutal demise of others. But what I was surprised to discover while watching it is that the film is less about the bridge itself, and how it's been utilised for such a morbid purpose, and more about the psychology of suicide victims and the effects their decision has on those around them. Does that make it better or worse? I'm not really sure. It's certainly fascinating to hear from the family and friends of victims and hear their perspectives, which offers us a window into the minds of those who have lost the will or desire to live. I discovered a lot watching the documentary, such as the clinical organisation of a suicidal persons minds. It's disturbing to think how much preparation can go into ending one's life. Rather than being a spontaneous decision and a chaotic occurrence, the victim often gets their affairs in order, ensures things are well set out and arranged before they jump, which actually makes things more tragic. The docs pacing is often sluggish, and the length of the interviews, as well as the volume of them, make it feel longwinded and even dull at times, but there's plenty of moments that will take your breath away, especially the raw footage taken at the bridge, and the stories from those left behind, as well as one victim who lived to tell the tale. You might find it fascinating; you might find it reprehensible, but you'll certainly see and hear some things that will stick with you for years to come.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very little of the actual premise is in this. 97% of this movie is interviews with other people who try to clear their conscious.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Boring. I was hoping to see more video footage of people jumping to their death. Can we strap a go-pro to these people? Unfortunately, the movie was mostly just talking and backstories.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

david f

A brilliant documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge and the people who choose to end their lives there.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Dennis Harvey

Variety

Tales are dramatic; the interviewees poignant, and the images -- often following bodies all the way down to the water -- are startling and discomfiting.

May 9, 2007

Full Review

Terry Lawson

Detroit Free Press

The Bridge avoids reducing its subjects to types, and if the portraits painted are often recognizable -- the person who talks so much about suicide that those around him fail to take him seriously -- they are not repetitive.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 8, 2007

Full Review

Times (UK)

It's gripping viewing but you feel like a voyeur of somebody else's pain. After a while you may feel that you're watching a particularly scenic snuff film.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 16, 2007

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

For me The Bridge redeems itself with one unexpected outcome that, if not happy, is at least ongoing.

May 19, 2020

Full Review

Sarah Manvel

Cinemattraction

The crowning achievement of this remarkable, respectful film is that it makes you wonder what you can do so that you never have to see it again.

Aug 7, 2018

Full Review

Kam Williams

Baret News

You never know who on the Golden Gate is about to leap to his or her death in this compelling documentary, so you have to keep your eyes glued to the screen. 24 tormented souls linked by suicide as a seductive alternative to their unrelenting suffering.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 4, 2015

Full Review

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Synopsis

The majestic Golden Gate Bridge is one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, it also is a beacon to people, struggling with depression, addiction or mental illness, who leap to their deaths into the waters of the bay. Filmmaker Eric Steel documents those suicides and interviews some of the victims' grieving survivors.

Director: Eric Steel
Executive Producer: Alison Palmer Bourke, Evan Shapiro
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Easy There Tiger
Rating: R (Disturbing Content|Suicide|Some Language)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $179.8K
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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