The results are striking: an emotional and aesthetic whirlpool of horror, fascination, beauty, and resignation that would probably drown lesser movies but that gives The Bridge an eerie power.
Comment
02/10/07
The Bridge (2006)
67
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:55
Fresh:37
Rotten:18
Average Rating:6.3/10
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.
Theatrical Release:Oct 27, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $49,313
Synopsis: Shot over an entire year in 2004, THE BRIDGE is a startling documentary about San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and the people who go there to end their lives. Director Eric Steel and his crew... [More]
Director: Eric Steel
Get This Movie
Reviews for The Bridge
Aspires to humanize the people who kill themselves at the Golden Gate Bridge, but ends up mostly reducing its subjects to their flamboyant and very public deaths.
02/10/07
By his use of interviews of friends and family of jumpers, Steel reminds us that no matter how alone some of these people felt, they weren't without people who loved them. It is a tender, powerful work.
02/09/07
As tough as the film is to watch, it's even more difficult to turn away. Even though suicide is prevalent in America %u2014 more than 30,000 occur each year %u2014 it's swept under the rug.
01/18/07
Though well-meaning, hauntingly scored and artfully photographed, this strange documentary marks the bridge as a mecca for self-inflicted death, while making us helpless observers of such horrific acts.
12/29/06
Top CriticThis would be an uncomfortably voyeuristic experience if Steel weren't so careful not to exploit the material. It's an almost unbearably sad one instead.
11/16/06
Rather slow. Interviews are meaningful and important. Shots of jumpers are rather suspect, ethically.
11/07/06
Far from being the exploitation of a lesser filmmaker, by recording the friends and families as they work through their thoughts and emotions, the film becomes an unusual act of compassion
11/01/06
It may be the first poetic snuff film.
11/01/06
Top CriticDespite its best intentions, however, The Bridge is ultimately only able to raise questions, failing to provide an avenue for a deeper exploration of the taboo subject.
10/30/06
You leave The Bridge with a new appreciation for your (relative) mental stability and a vow to make the most of your brief, ephemeral life.
10/27/06
The problem is knowing who's suicidal before it's too late, and that's a big part of what makes watching (director Eric) Steel's footage such a harrowing experience.
10/27/06
It's disturbing, needless to say, but also affecting in unexpected ways.
10/27/06
Top CriticFraming the debate as being about the Golden Gate masks the bigger problem of a society that does not do a great job at taking care of its most vulnerable citizens, and that's the real scandal of The Bridge.
10/27/06
The interviews with loved ones keep the tragedies in context and help us process what we see. The true substance of The Bridge lies in their words, rather than the shots of the people they've lost.
10/27/06
Top CriticThe Bridge does not try to milk these tragedies, which are often shot from a great distance and tastefully edited.
10/27/06
Top CriticOne of (author Neale Donald) Walsch's precepts is that you should never make a living doing something you hate. If I'd known that, I might not have felt obliged to sit through every excruciating minute of this sanctimonious infomercial.
10/27/06
Top CriticThis is death porn, shocking for the sake of being shocking and little else.
10/27/06
The film is not good, it is not average, it is simply not recommendable in good conscience.
10/27/06
The Bridge is brave and unflinching, unshakably haunting and deeply mysterious. I doubt I'll forget it until the day I die.
10/27/06
Latest News for The Bridge
October 31, 2006:
RTIndie: Can Indie Studios Survive Without Big Studio Backing?
With the sale of independent-minded ThinkFilm last week, can indie film distributors survive without big studio backing? More...
October 26, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Fire" Blazes; "Scissors" Isn't Sharp Enough; "Saw III" Not Screened: Guess The Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got the return of Jigsaw ("Saw III," starring Tobin Bell), a tale of rebellion in apartheid-era South Africa ("Catch a Fire,"... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade 
Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!
Top 50 of 2009
Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.
Santa's Naughty List
Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds