One does not instantly think of Knife Throwing as an innately sexual and sensual act. In the hands of director Patrice Laconte and stars Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil, Knife Throwing, is sexier and more sensual than most of the on-screen lovemaking over the last fifty years of cinema. Girl on the Bridge is one of the most delightful romantic comedies ever produced because of Leconte’s deft script, direction, and of course the Knife Throwing.
Is it fate or just random chance that Gabor (Auteuil) saves Adèle (Paradis) from killing herself atop a bridge in Paris. We quickly learn that there is no chance these two are brought together. Gabor is a knife thrower without a target. Adèle without much to live for as she is struck with bad luck. The two begin their partnership it becomes apparent to everyone but them that there is more than the act that brings them success. It is only when fate separates them do they each realize they are their missing piece. But can they find each other again before one or the other does something drastic?
For a film that never has its leads consummate their relationship, Girl on the Bridge is sexier than anything passing itself off as “sexy”. The daringness of Leconte’s script and direction to make these acts of insertion set pieces of tension, only after all of the thrusting action have been spent are we able to feel relief is so overtly sexual that one is surprised that no one had attempted it before. No matter as Girl on the Bridge uses these set pieces in ever-escalating acts of daring and relief as the tension of released.
It is not just Leconte’s astute skills as a writer and director that make this so successful. The leads Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil are not just brilliant individually but set the screen ablaze with their chemistry. The back and forth and interplay throughout the film feel as real as any relationship off-screen. There’s the push and pull that feels genuine between the two as though we’re watching these two fall in love onscreen. Paradis is magical here. Plucky and prickly in all the right ways as much as she’s defiantly her own person. Auteuil finds that grounded grumpy charm that many have attempted but few are able to make look as magnetic on screen.
The biggest magic trick Girl on the Bridge is able to pull off is its ability to make you root for Gabor and Adèle and their happy endings. So many films make this notion perfunctory and inevitable. Leconte’s power as a director is in his ability to make the notion of “nothing is guaranteed” so magical, making that notion of a happy ending, so ethereal and earned. By its ending, on a bridge – no shock to anyone – everything feels so perfectly realized, that one cannot help but swoon.
The Transfer
Kino Lorber’s transfer for the film is FLAWLESS – nary a scratch or issue with the source material. There’s a clarity to the widescreen image, though never at the expense of the film’s more cinematic qualities, that’s unrivaled in most of what we’ve seen in 2024 on home video (with a few precious exceptions). Needless to say, anyone purchasing Girl on the Bridge is in for a huge treat. Watch this one on the biggest screen you have.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio commentary by film critic Manuela Lazic
Le Batteur Du Boléro
Trailers
The Audio commentary by film critic Manuela Lazic opens with how different the lead Daniel Auteuil’s role is from his normal starring roles and Vanessa Paradis was known mostly for her pop career. Some of the details include the opening moments with Paradis’s Adèle; Leconte’s fascination with women and specific aspects of women – a larger discussion of Leconte’s work and this subject; the work of cinematographer Jean-Marie Dreujou; a larger discussion of the fantasy of the film and the use of luck; the influence of this film on Jeunet’s Amélie – a larger discussion of “commercial” vs “art” cinema in France; the shopping set piece; a discussion of the way Adèle and Gabor are able to speak to one another across space; a discussion of the sexual politics of the film and how empathetic and non-judgmental female sexual desires are portrayed in the film; the turn in the last third Adèle leaving Gabor – the critical response to this being manufactured drama, but Lazic’s elaboration of it; the use of reality and fantasy throughout the film; a larger discussion of the fashion in the film; a larger discussion about the music used in the film; a larger discussion on the effects that the French New Wave had on Leconte’s film; and much more. Lazic provides an informative track about the film.
Le Batteur Du Boléro (8:22) – a short film from 1992 by Patrice Leconte focuses on the lead percussionist during a performance of Boléro and his fear and anxiety of being offbeat. A single tracking shot brings us into the percussionist world and stays there until the crescendo of the performance.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Yvonne’s Perfume (1:45); The Hairdresser’s Husband (1:22); Girl on the Bridge (1:51)
The Final Thought
Girl on the Bridge is a stone-cold classic. Kino has delivered a beautiful special edition of the film. Highest possible recommendations!!!
The sensual, sexy, provocative romantic comedy Girl on the Bridge gets a wonderful Blu-ray special edition from the folks at Kino Lorber.
The Film
One does not instantly think of Knife Throwing as an innately sexual and sensual act. In the hands of director Patrice Laconte and stars Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil, Knife Throwing, is sexier and more sensual than most of the on-screen lovemaking over the last fifty years of cinema. Girl on the Bridge is one of the most delightful romantic comedies ever produced because of Leconte’s deft script, direction, and of course the Knife Throwing.
Is it fate or just random chance that Gabor (Auteuil) saves Adèle (Paradis) from killing herself atop a bridge in Paris. We quickly learn that there is no chance these two are brought together. Gabor is a knife thrower without a target. Adèle without much to live for as she is struck with bad luck. The two begin their partnership it becomes apparent to everyone but them that there is more than the act that brings them success. It is only when fate separates them do they each realize they are their missing piece. But can they find each other again before one or the other does something drastic?
For a film that never has its leads consummate their relationship, Girl on the Bridge is sexier than anything passing itself off as “sexy”. The daringness of Leconte’s script and direction to make these acts of insertion set pieces of tension, only after all of the thrusting action have been spent are we able to feel relief is so overtly sexual that one is surprised that no one had attempted it before. No matter as Girl on the Bridge uses these set pieces in ever-escalating acts of daring and relief as the tension of released.
It is not just Leconte’s astute skills as a writer and director that make this so successful. The leads Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil are not just brilliant individually but set the screen ablaze with their chemistry. The back and forth and interplay throughout the film feel as real as any relationship off-screen. There’s the push and pull that feels genuine between the two as though we’re watching these two fall in love onscreen. Paradis is magical here. Plucky and prickly in all the right ways as much as she’s defiantly her own person. Auteuil finds that grounded grumpy charm that many have attempted but few are able to make look as magnetic on screen.
The biggest magic trick Girl on the Bridge is able to pull off is its ability to make you root for Gabor and Adèle and their happy endings. So many films make this notion perfunctory and inevitable. Leconte’s power as a director is in his ability to make the notion of “nothing is guaranteed” so magical, making that notion of a happy ending, so ethereal and earned. By its ending, on a bridge – no shock to anyone – everything feels so perfectly realized, that one cannot help but swoon.
The Transfer
Kino Lorber’s transfer for the film is FLAWLESS – nary a scratch or issue with the source material. There’s a clarity to the widescreen image, though never at the expense of the film’s more cinematic qualities, that’s unrivaled in most of what we’ve seen in 2024 on home video (with a few precious exceptions). Needless to say, anyone purchasing Girl on the Bridge is in for a huge treat. Watch this one on the biggest screen you have.
The Extras
They include the following;
The Audio commentary by film critic Manuela Lazic opens with how different the lead Daniel Auteuil’s role is from his normal starring roles and Vanessa Paradis was known mostly for her pop career. Some of the details include the opening moments with Paradis’s Adèle; Leconte’s fascination with women and specific aspects of women – a larger discussion of Leconte’s work and this subject; the work of cinematographer Jean-Marie Dreujou; a larger discussion of the fantasy of the film and the use of luck; the influence of this film on Jeunet’s Amélie – a larger discussion of “commercial” vs “art” cinema in France; the shopping set piece; a discussion of the way Adèle and Gabor are able to speak to one another across space; a discussion of the sexual politics of the film and how empathetic and non-judgmental female sexual desires are portrayed in the film; the turn in the last third Adèle leaving Gabor – the critical response to this being manufactured drama, but Lazic’s elaboration of it; the use of reality and fantasy throughout the film; a larger discussion of the fashion in the film; a larger discussion about the music used in the film; a larger discussion on the effects that the French New Wave had on Leconte’s film; and much more. Lazic provides an informative track about the film.
Le Batteur Du Boléro (8:22) – a short film from 1992 by Patrice Leconte focuses on the lead percussionist during a performance of Boléro and his fear and anxiety of being offbeat. A single tracking shot brings us into the percussionist world and stays there until the crescendo of the performance.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Yvonne’s Perfume (1:45); The Hairdresser’s Husband (1:22); Girl on the Bridge (1:51)
The Final Thought
Girl on the Bridge is a stone-cold classic. Kino has delivered a beautiful special edition of the film. Highest possible recommendations!!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of Girl on the Bridge is out now
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