Girl on the Bridge (1999)

Girl on the Bridge (French: La fille sur le pont) is another of those movies I found while searing for foreign language romances. I didn't know anything about the film, only that there was Vanessa Paradis in it, and being curious to see her acting, I watched it. 

It all starts one night, on a bridge. Adèle (Vanessa Paradis), tired of being used by all the men in her life, is contemplating suicide. That's when Gabor (Daniel Auteuil) makes his first appearance. He is a knife thrower in need of a human target and offers her the 'job'. She accepts. The two make a good team and soon Adèle's luck starts to change.

The plot is very simple and there really isn't much out of the ordinary in it. There isn't an actual plot, to be honest, it's more like an assembly of situations and events, some of which are far from being credible --like the huge amount of zeros coming out at the roulette. 

However, the simple story does what it's supposed to do, a pretty solid analysis of luck, bad luck, love and passion. And it does that through the beautiful relationship between Adèle and Gabor. Yes, it's the typical needy relationship full of jealousy and mistrust, but there's passion, lust, destiny and love in there. They are so close and yet so distant at the same time, they cannot function without the other. This relationship is what carries the film.

Paramount Classics

And the performances from the leading duo, of course. Vanessa Paradis portrays Adèle with such elegance, charms and mannerism that she reminded me of Audrey Hepburn. She is the typical pretty girl but at the same time she manages to be sexy and seductive. Daniel Auteuil also gives a great performance and he manages to make his boring character an interesting man. Also, their chemistry is so enchanting it makes the film a pleasure to watch. 

The chemistry between the leads isn't the only pleasing element about Girl on the Bridge though. The back and white cinematography is indeed outstanding, the perfect fit for the film, especially when it comes to evoking the circus aspect of the story. The camera angles are also very interesting and fascinating.