The Bridge is a controversial film that documents the “suicide phenomenon” at The Golden Gate Bridge. In the span of January through December 2004, filmmaker Eric Steel continously filmed this bridge, known to be a mecca of sorts for those who want to end their lives, and was able to capture 23 of 24 suicides on film. It features real footage from these real suicides and suicide attempts, along with interviews with grieving family members, friends and witnesses to those suicides. The keyword here is “real”. It’s unlike comfortably watching a Hollywood movie with its professional stunts as a detached viewer, knowing it is all “just for show”. At first glance, it sounds kind of morbid and in many ways, it is. We are, after all, witnessing the final moments of someone’s life and this is all presented as a form of entertainment. But there seems to be some morbid curiosity innate in all of us, a curiosity about death, and this film really addresses that curiosity.
Some may criticize The Bridge on the basis of it perceivably glorifying suicide or perhaps, in some ways, encouraging it by romanticizing it. In reality, I think any film that undertakes such a taboo topic as suicide will invoke strong feelings on either end of the spectrum. It really depends on your perspective on it going into the film. For me, I thought the movie was disturbing, yes, because it’s surreal knowing that these people you are watching on your screen, as they plunge into the murky water, are no longer living and you are a virtual witness to someone’s death. One can even call it a snuff film. However, albeit disturbing, it still offers a candid and thought-provoking view on the topic. In some of the interviews with the family members, while you can see their hurt in losing a loved one, there’s also a sense of acceptance, that they are happy that their loved one is finally at peace and even an understanding of the reasons behind the act of suicide. These sentiments are also juxtaposed with an interview with John Kevin Hines, a survivor of the Golden Gate plunge. He tells his tale of how he struggled with bipolar disorder and one day, just snapping. He left school and took a bus to the bridge, where he later stood crying and contemplating taking his own life (even taking a photo for a tourist oblivious to what he was planning to do). Soon thereafter, he climbed over the barrier and jumped. As he was taking the 220 foot (67 m) plunge into the water below, a fall that takes just 4 seconds at 75 miles per hour (120 km/h), he almost instantly regretted his decision and decided to try his best to fall in a position that allowed him to live. And he did, surprisingly and miraculously.
The protagonist of this documentary, if you will, as he is the suicide victim prominently featured, is 34 year old Eugene “Gene” Sprague. Throughout the film, it shows him nonchalantly pacing back and forth on the bridge, with his long black hair blowing in the wind. We are also given insight into the life of Gene, shedding light as to who he was as a person in life and accentuating the fact that he, like all the other suicide victims, is more than just another statistic of Golden Gate Bridge suicides. His friends and those close to him tell of how he was severely depressed after his mother died and as a result, how he was feeling lost in life. Some of those interviewed seemed at peace with his decision, some were angry, but all wished that things could’ve worked out differently. At the end of the film, Gene sits on the ledge of the barrier and without any hesitation, he gets up to stand on the ledge and falls backward into the Pacific Ocean. The water ripples and then few seconds later, it is as if nothing had happened.
Another one of the memorable jumpers featured in the film is this older guy in what appears to be a matching sweat suit. He’s casually on his cell phone, talking and laughing as if having a grand old time. Watching his behaviour, it never occurred to me to think that this is one of the jumpers as the footage on the bridge does not include just suicides. After he finished talking on the phone, he puts his phone down and sits up on the ledge, facing the body of water below. With a quick sign of the cross, he jumps over. Meanwhile, as with a few other of the suicides captured on film, there are people in the background walking by or standing around appreciating the sights and sounds. There was even a couple within a few feet of Gene when he got ready to fall but they didn’t notice him or just didn’t do anything. However, there are a few instances of intervention by a by-stander in the film, including a man who managed to grab a girl standing on the beam on the outer edge of the bridge and pull her back to safety.
As you’re watching these people on the ledge or on the beam, getting ready to jump, you really wonder what’s going through their heads. What are they thinking as they step off or fall back into the unknown? Are they scared? Are they intoxicated with joy to be released from their mortal pain? And as they are free-falling, do they instantly regret it like John Kevin Hines did? Sadly, while the interviews to shed light on the suicide victims were interesting, the film itself feels lacking and dissatisfying as to addressing the inner-depths of the topic of suicide. As to what could be done to make The Bridge better, I don’t know, short of impossible notions such as bringing back the dead to truly understand the experience and the decision.
What I did ascertain from watching this film wasn’t necessarily a complete change of attitude toward suicide, nor do I believe that was the filmmaker’s intent, but rather two main ideas. One being the need for a suicide barrier for the bridge because while I am sure that those determined to end their lives will find a way to end it, making it that much more difficult will help deter some. The accessibility of the Golden Gate Bridge for Bay Area residents, the fact that there’s a small survival rate and it being relatively “unmessy”, are what makes the bridge such an alluring spot for suicide. Apparently, it’s a matter of economics and aesthetics that is causing the delay to erect this barrier to save lives. Secondly, one of the most moving parts of the film that really stuck with me was when they talked about a man who left a note in his apartment that said he would not jump from the Golden Gate Bridge if, on the way to the bridge, he met one person who smiled at him. The man jumped because no one smiled at him or greeted him and that was all it took to save his life. Living in our fast-paced and alienating world, where we are so consumed with our own lives, it’s moments like this when a light-bulb goes off and you realize that one small gesture toward another human being, a stranger even, can make all the difference. Sure, a meaningful smile or friendly word may not be all it takes to save a person’s life; however, maybe if we all took a moment out of our day to give a stranger a smile or a “hello”, the world could be a better place. One can imagine…
It should be noted that Eric Steel and his film crew had the bridge authority’s number on speed dial so that whenever they observed a person they deemed high risk to jump, they would call it in right away. As Steel noted, they were human beings first and filmmakers second. During that time of filming, Steel and his team saved six people, and one person more than once (ABC News).
The Bridge’s voyeuristic approach may be effective in revealing another dimension of suicide but for me, the result is mostly a feeling of inexplicable uneasiness, which can be expected considering the last scene. It might not be as enlightening as one may hope, but it may still be worth watching if not just for satisfying a morbid curiosity.
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Suicide is an impetuous act or the act of an ill person lacking the capacity to make a sane decision. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Limiting access to the means of death has proven to dramatically reduce suicides.
98% of those stopped never attempt suicide again.
The rails at the Golden Gate Bridge are simply too low and access is too great. The rails of the bridge need to be raised.
Four people try to die there every week and one succeeds.
The true victims are the loved ones left behind many of which carry terrible emotional scars the rest of their lives…
San Franciscans and the people of the Bay Area can no longer hide their collective heads in the sand – we are now well aware of the horror taking place and as such have a moral obligation to do something to end the deaths at the Golden Gate Bridge.
Please help raise the rails – and end the tragic deaths
People who are hurting will find a way to end their life whether the rails are raised or not.
The pain for those left behind is hard but this is a film people need to see. I think it showed the anguish Gene experienced and for those of us who have been tormented with and attempted suicide, this film will touch something inside you.
Gene Sprague was my friend. I have not watched this movie because I don’t think it will make me feel any better about what happened. I worked with him for years and he taught me how to make 3D characters for games. He was a gentle genius that was a brilliant artist just like his mother. I can only hope now, that it’s done, that Cuervo the Ferret fell into good hands and has lived a happy life because all those that knew Gene will always have a sense of unhappiness knowing that he’s no longer around. RIP Gene, I’ll miss you and I’ll see you soon.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=37568059894
A facebook group dedicated to remembering Gene Sprague – most of us knew or knew of Gene in HS – not many of us are fans of this film. Just putting this out there for those who knew Gene and wanted to remember/pay tribute to/mourn his passing.
RIP
Just watched The Bridge last night on the Documentary Channel. It brought up a lot of unsettling emotions and I have to say that I felt it to be a very disturbing film. It seemed to be more voyeuristic than educational. I kept watching because the person the film focuses on the most, a young man named Gene Sprague, looked remarkably like a young man I know. Gene’s death was tragic and his pain should never have been exploited in this film. My deepest condolences to the friends he left behind on that day, and to all those who have lost family/friends to suicide. R.I.P. Gene.
I’m curious as to where phk got that figure “98% of those stopped never attempt suicide again” – most people who are “stopped” didn’t intend to kill themselves, but rather are crying out for attention.
I would guess that 99.9% of those who truly wish to end their own lives are successful.
Gene would likely fall into that catagory – I was angry about the filming of his death in that they filmed him for 90+ mins prior to his jump. I was mad because they could have called the cops or tried to stop him somehow – but I now realize based on the calm and peace with which he climed up to the railing & lept to his death that Gene truly wanted this. Had they stopped him that day he would have returned another. Had a barrier been erected, he’d have found another way – people are resourceful creatures, Gene included. It seems that a barrier might help to prevent suicide “attempts” – those people who don’t truly wish to die. However a barrier would not prevent truly suicidal people from carrying out the event they seek. “Limiting access to the means of death” is pretty tricky – raising the rails of the GG Bridge limits access to that means perhaps – then there’s household cleaners, alcohol, automobiles, tall buildings, firearms, power tools, locomotives, razor blades or rope. I’m sure I could like 100s of other ways that people could achieve the means to their end – so what good does raising a few guardrails really do to someone truly committed to ending thier life?
To me the notion of a barrier on the GG Bridge would be something of a selfish act for the landmark – a kind of NIMBY approach to the problem. “Well people are going to kill themselves, but at least it won’t be off OUR bridge.”
I didn’t know Gene at the end, but I am reasonably certain that he was sane. The notion that he was “incapable of making a sane decision” ignores the possibility that some people who are at full mental capacity could make a decision like this. Euthenasia is similar – if someone is in so much physical pain that asisted suicide is deemed by many to be not only sane, but also humane, then why does society have such a hard time accepting that someone could be in so much mental agony that a similar outcome might also be humane? A tragic decision to be certain, but that doesn’t necessarily make it an insane decision. Food for thought.
RIP Gene.
The scene you describe of the man leaving a note in his apartment (about not killing himself should someone smile at him) was not in the movie. It was described in the New Yorker article that inspired the move.