On my eternal quest for the not so average movie, different from the usual Hollywood blockbuster, I came along this "Les amants du Pont-Neuf" or "The Lovers on the Bridge". I must say that I already liked the movie, just by reading the title and that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this is a romantic movie, situated in Paris. On the contrary, normally I try to stay as far away as I can from all romantic movies situated in that city, because they never show Paris the way it really is and if I want some touristic information on Paris for young couples in love, I'll check one of my travelers guides. No, what probably made me decide to watch this movie was that the title reminded me of one of my favorites "Los Amantes del Círculo Polar" or in English "The Lovers from the Arctic Circle". Add to this that Juliette Binoche, one of my favorite French actresses, played a leading role in it and you know why I didn't hesitate to watch it.
On the Pont Neuf in Paris, which has been closed for repairs, live two vagrants. When one day they find a third person staying there, the oldest one of the two, Hans, immediately tries to chase her away. But Alex, the youngest of the two, likes the young Michèle and allows her to stay for the night. Alex is a street artist who is addicted to alcohol and sedatives, Hans started to live on the streets when his wife started drinking and ultimately drunk herself to death after their child died and Michèle fled to a live on the streets after a failed relationship and because of a disease which can't be cured and which is slowly turning her blind. Together they try to make the best of their lives and when Michèle's eyesight gets worse, she more and more starts to depend on Alex. He doesn't mind about that because he is deeply in love with her, but when Alex finds a lot of posters in the streets, asking for information about Michèle because a cure for her disease might have been found, he fears that he will lose her if he doesn't do anything about it. Out of pure desperation he does something incredibly stupid which sends him to prison for a couple of years...
If you expect to see some nice romantic images of Paris, then this will be a very disappointing movie. Even though it sometimes shows Paris from a prettier view point (the fireworks show on the 14th of July, the French National Holiday, for instance is magnificent), the entire movie only shows the hard reality of the life on the streets. I really don't think that such a story belongs in the perfect image that so many people have of the City of Light, but even though there is nothing romantic about live on the streets, it's nice to see how these two people have found each other. But on the other hand I must also say that even to this relationship there is a downside. You can't possibly speak of real love or romance when you see how selfish and greedy the reaction of Alex is, when he finds out that he might lose her.
The acting in this movie is really good. Juliette Binoche proves that she can be as outstanding and beautiful as a vagrant as in a more glamorous role. In my opinion she was the best in this movie, although I must admit that Denis Lavant and Klaus-Michael Grüber did a nice job as well. Especially Grüber was a nice surprise. The man is a complete stranger to me and according to this website hasn't got much experience, but he sure did a good job in this movie.
All in all this is a very interesting movie, because it is a romantic movie and yet it isn't. As it takes its viewers on a roller-coaster ride between happiness, disgust, love, hate, beauty and ugliness, this certainly isn't a movie like the average sugar sweet nonsense that we are used to get from Hollywood.. There really aren't many movies that dare to be so different and that's why I would like to reward this daring concept with a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10.
On the Pont Neuf in Paris, which has been closed for repairs, live two vagrants. When one day they find a third person staying there, the oldest one of the two, Hans, immediately tries to chase her away. But Alex, the youngest of the two, likes the young Michèle and allows her to stay for the night. Alex is a street artist who is addicted to alcohol and sedatives, Hans started to live on the streets when his wife started drinking and ultimately drunk herself to death after their child died and Michèle fled to a live on the streets after a failed relationship and because of a disease which can't be cured and which is slowly turning her blind. Together they try to make the best of their lives and when Michèle's eyesight gets worse, she more and more starts to depend on Alex. He doesn't mind about that because he is deeply in love with her, but when Alex finds a lot of posters in the streets, asking for information about Michèle because a cure for her disease might have been found, he fears that he will lose her if he doesn't do anything about it. Out of pure desperation he does something incredibly stupid which sends him to prison for a couple of years...
If you expect to see some nice romantic images of Paris, then this will be a very disappointing movie. Even though it sometimes shows Paris from a prettier view point (the fireworks show on the 14th of July, the French National Holiday, for instance is magnificent), the entire movie only shows the hard reality of the life on the streets. I really don't think that such a story belongs in the perfect image that so many people have of the City of Light, but even though there is nothing romantic about live on the streets, it's nice to see how these two people have found each other. But on the other hand I must also say that even to this relationship there is a downside. You can't possibly speak of real love or romance when you see how selfish and greedy the reaction of Alex is, when he finds out that he might lose her.
The acting in this movie is really good. Juliette Binoche proves that she can be as outstanding and beautiful as a vagrant as in a more glamorous role. In my opinion she was the best in this movie, although I must admit that Denis Lavant and Klaus-Michael Grüber did a nice job as well. Especially Grüber was a nice surprise. The man is a complete stranger to me and according to this website hasn't got much experience, but he sure did a good job in this movie.
All in all this is a very interesting movie, because it is a romantic movie and yet it isn't. As it takes its viewers on a roller-coaster ride between happiness, disgust, love, hate, beauty and ugliness, this certainly isn't a movie like the average sugar sweet nonsense that we are used to get from Hollywood.. There really aren't many movies that dare to be so different and that's why I would like to reward this daring concept with a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10.