Watching The Bridge

In 2004, filmmaker Eric Steele set up cameras at the second most common suicide site in the world—the Golden Gate Bridge. Throughout the course of filming, on average, one person jumped off the Bridge every 15 days. His documentary, The Bridge, combines footage from the bridge along with loved one’s interviews to build a stunning look at mental illness, and a work that will leave a lingering impact on you.

The Bridge is a quiet film, almost subdued, and it’s the quiet (almost tranquil) treatment of the horrendous moments is what makes the film all the more eerie.

It is a film about the people—those plagued by mental illnesses that torment their daily lives and push them to commit the final unspeakable act of suicide, and those who can sometimes only watch on helplessly as their loved ones disappear right before their eyes. 

We are shown images of people on the bridge— some simply enjoying an afternoon with their families, and others who mysteriously pace obsessively, or even more disturbingly, others who sit on the ledge and stare into the watery abyss below them. 

These images are interconnected with voiceovers and interviews of seemingly unrelated people, talking fondly or analytically of people we are not automatically introduced to. On some level, we sense that the interviews are regarding those people who have jumped off the bridge and died, but the film delays in giving us answers. 

When we are shown images of people jumping, it seems almost surreal. The camera veers and zooms sharply to catch their fall, and from a distance, they appear almost inhuman. A sense of helplessness pervades the audience, and confusion over why these horrific events have to occur.

One would assume that an advanced country such as the United States, with its expansive social welfare systems in place shouldn’t face so many problems regarding suicides.  I can think of almost no other country where so much help is offered to those who ask for it. Having said that, the system in by far from perfect. There emerges a sad comment on society that many of the eventual victims of the bridge were people with long histories of mental illness and had, at some point, reached out for help that they either didn’t receive or didn’t have the intended effect. 

There should be a greater debate and discussion about mental health in this country. The stigma should be lifted, and mental health services should be offered freely and conveniently.  Everything first starts with educating yourself and those around you about mental health. Ignorance leads to apathy, which ultimately leads to tragedy. 

Nivi Elango