The Bridges of Madison County

Closeup on a mailbox: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson. Behind it, a dusty road leading through green fields, a minivan coming towards the camera and a pan over towards an isolated farmhouse. It's the present, and Michael and Carolyn have come to settle some issues regarding their mother's estate. It seems that their mother wanted her ashes scattered from a nearby covered bridge, which startles her two grown kids, particularly the seemingly very conservative and religious Michael. Turns out that Francesca had her reasons, as they find out when they open her cedar chest and turn to the diaries contained within... Late summer 1965, and Francesca, an Iowa housewife in her mid-40s is seeing her husband and kids off to the Illinois State Fair. They'll be gone for 5 days and she'll have little to do but be bored in a different way than she usually is, until the arrival the next morning of a lost National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood). Kincaid is on assignment to photograph the covered bridges that the county is famed for, and Francesca tries to tell him the way to the Roseman bridge but quickly decides to show him the way personally instead. As they drive towards the bridge and make small talk, they seem uneasy at first - but when Robert mentions Francesca's accent, and she finds that he has visited the town where she grew up in Italy, something starts to click. He reaches for a cigarette from the glove compartment and brushes her leg...later he picks flowers for her....they have the same favorite radio station, playing blues and jazz. Francesca starts to see something special, exotic....Robert sees someone warm and real, centered but more than the simple housewife that she's let herself become. So begins four days of falling in love, four days of uncertainty, secretive glances, shyness turning to boldness, feelings long-buried in both reawakened and examined by two people smart enough to know right away how problematic an affair can be, yet willing to cast aside the doubts and damn the consequences. For now. The brilliance of The Bridges of Madison County isn't in any kind of originality, and it isn't in the bits of Waller's strained prose that occasionally leech through LaGravenese's generally excellent screenplay; it isn't in Streep's accent, which I know some have problems with but which I barely even notice at this point; and it isn't in the framing story, which again has grown on me over time but is certainly not all that interesting itself. What makes the film magical is the chemistry, the feeling of absolute rightness between the two leads, and the slow building towards an inevitable yet still heartbreaking decision. Clint Eastwood certainly must have seemed an odd choice to take on this film, which he co-produced and co-wrote the elegiac "Doe Eyes" theme for in addition to directing and starring - even to me, a big fan already at the time, it seemed odd. Robert Redford seemed to be everybody's idea of Kincaid, and Steven Spielberg got mentioned often as a possible director, but I doubt many people will have problems after they see the film. Eastwood's Robert is a sensitive guy, but he's not schmaltzy, a poetic man but not pretentious about it, and a man clearly as unsure about the concept of love and the kind of risk he puts himself into as the married Francesca. He's a traveler and a loner, but deep down there's something missing, something we can feel almost from the beginning, something seen in the long gaze out the window near the end, and as he stands in the rain, waiting and hoping, at the film's emotional climax. And Eastwood the director keeps things from getting out of hand sentimentally until the last half hour, when both he and the audience know it's time for the tears to flow. But as good as Clint is - and this is surely one of his two or three best performances - Meryl Streep is just a marvel here. Overlook the accent - whether you like it or not, it really isn't terribly important here - and you see a less mannered, more natural performance than she's given anywhere else. She mentions a couple of times in the making-of piece that accompanies the film on DVD that she was uncertain at first of Eastwood's quick shooting style, but it does wonders for her, giving a spontaneity that she really needed for the role. So much of the film relies on us believing that these are two hesitant, uncertain people with a yearning that at first has no direction - it can't seem studied, and it doesn't. And for a film that is set mostly in a kitchen and around barn-like red covered bridges, there's an excitement and intensity that can't be matched in most romances shot under the Eiffel Tower or in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. The technical aspects - Jack N. Green's lovely September-October photography and the wonderful Eastwood-chosen musical mixture of Johnny Hartman and Dinah Washington, among others - are just about perfect as well. What the film ultimately builds to - and much of it is on Streep's shoulders - is a powerful examination of regret and loss and a determination that there are no perfect choices in life, only choices that involve different kinds of sacrifices. The film doesn't comment on the rightness or wrongness of her adultery, but Francesca lets her kids know that whatever she's done, she's not going to beat herself up over it - and neither should they. At the end, we know that whatever choice she made would have been difficult, would have involved hurting herself and others; there's no easy answer, only a bit of hope for the next generation, as they at least have come to accept and understand, and Francesca's ashes scatter on the wind.... NOTE ON THE DVD: The transfer on this 2008 "special edition" DVD is very nice and the aspect ratio correct - really essential to this tightly-shot film. Good if a little over-effusive commentary by cinematographer Jack Green and editor Joel Cox and a nice little making-of featurette.

Truly unexpected!!! I love it, to see Clint Eastwood so emotional was Brilliantly Done......WELL DONE!

👍

Well cast. Beautifully presented. Love this movie.

Love that Green GMC Pickup! Boy! You better be careful what you put on facebook! In a moment of late night reverie, I happened to make the following on-line comment before signing off: Just finished watching 'The Bridges of Madison County' for like the 9th time in three weeks. I love that film! A Friend had responded the next morning by asking `Why?' It's not like she threw the gauntlet down or anything. I didn't view it as a challenge to my tastes. Nor did she remind me that the Film had been out quite a few years now (released 1995) and had gotten mixed reviews even then. I made the brief comment in return that her question deserved a well-considered answer. Why is a very good Question. If you'll pardon such a simple list, here's what immediately comes to mind: * TBoMC is basically an intriguing story about two people who I find interesting on several levels. They each have an assortment of likeable characteristics and curious foibles as do we all. Yet they seem to be genuinely good people. * That Robert is middle-aged and Francesca is probably somewhere near her early 40s speaks to me, as do their revealed life experiences. * I don't believe this to simply be a lustful encounter. That they misbehave is a given. But there are times I don't think we can reasonably be expected to control matters of the heart and with whom we fall in love. They succumbed to time, circumstance and temptation. * The story is told with a minimum of clutter and yet it's allowed to develop slowly and carefully. It has a rhythm and pacing I've come to appreciate. * The minimal associative story lines support and enhance the main themes and reinforce the fact that of poor choice come consequences. We are reminded that such tangential outcomes may very well involve family and friends. * Francesca ultimately chooses the higher calling and remains with her husband and children. I didn't expect this and found her decision honorable and to be preferred, if not completely satisfying on a certain visceral and emotional level. * Duty and Familial Love were reinforced and affirmed. * And yet it's made obvious to us that both principals did really love each other and thought about each other often until their dying day. * The dispersal of Francesca's ashes at Roseman Bridge is so poignant. * Eastwood as the Director found it unnecessary to include an excess of foul language or nudity. The story was revealed to us tastefully - even artistically. * The Film is beautifully photographed. * Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood are superb in these roles! We've know for some time that Meryl is such a fine actress but that Clint more than holds his own in such a roll cast against expected type delights me to no end. No guns, fisticuffs, orangutans or serapes here! * Tissues were required the first few viewings! This is a pretty good indicator that I resonated with the Film on an emotional level. * I love a good Romance. What else can I say? I think this Film is truly deserving of Five Stars. Russell de Ville 11 March 2010

Zum Film: Für mich ist " Die Brücken am Fluss" auf Anhieb einer meiner Top-Favoriten im Genre - Liebesfilm etc. geworden. Genauer betrachtet, würde ich sogar behaupten, dass ich bisher kaum etwas vergleichbares gesichtet habe. Der Grund mag die geniale Umsetzung zweier sich liebenden Seelen sein. Die Tiefe und die ausgewachsene - absolut realistische - Darstellung von Meryl Streep und Clind Eastwood sind in ihrer offenen Darstellung einfach einmalig. Fazit: Klasse Story, Top Darsteller, gekonnte schauspielerische Leistung ergeben einen Film, den man sich wirklich nicht entgehen lassen sollte. Gerade die männliche Gesellschaft täte gut daran, sich diesen Film anzusehen. So einen Film bekommt man nur sehr selten geboten, deshalb kann ich ihn nur aufs Wärmste empfehlen. Zur Blu-ray: Bild und Ton sind der DVD um einiges überlegen und rechtfertigen auf jeden Fall den Austausch der DVD. Auch wenn das Bild nicht immer perfekt ist (man möge das Alter des Films berücksichtigen), sind Auflösung, Farbe, und Schärfe der bisherigen DVD-Fassung um einiges überlegen. Ich habe, nach dem ich die Blu-ray geschaut habe, die DVD mit der Blu-ray verglichen (auf einem 50 Zoll Plasma)....und kann nur sagen, dass ich der Umtausch auf jeden Fall lohnt. Der Ton weiß ebenfalls zu gefallen und bietet für einen, eher Dialog-lastigen Film, eine gute Räumliche Darstellung. Leider ist das Cover das Übel dieses wunderbaren Films. Die Amaray-Hülle ist billigst verarbeitet ( ausgestanzte Sternform, um Plastik zu sparen). Wendecover ist ebenfalls nicht vorhanden, d.h. aufgedrucktes FSK-Logo. Warner zeigt hier wieder sein allzu beliebtes Sparmuster!!! Ich habe die Blu-ray in eine anderer Leerhülle verfrachtet und das Problem war erledigt. Auch wenn die Verpackung unter aller Würde ist, sollte man sich nicht davon abhalten lassen, diesen Film auf Blu-ray zu genießen, die Hülle kann man ja - so wie ich- durch eine besser verarbeitete ersetzen.

emballage en espagnol...

This is a lovely and very emotional movie. A very different role for Clint Eastwood in which he performed very well. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a true love story.

Rien à redire, film culte à ajouter à ma collection

One of the best movies ever made in my opinion. Brilliant acting, both Clint and Meryl 'are' their parts. Haunting from start til end and brilliantly directed by Clint. This Blu-Ray release looks fantastic, way better than the previous DVD.