The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Mary McGuckian

Writers:

Mary McGuckian (writer)
Thornton Wilder (novel)

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Five Lives Bound By One Fate.

Plot:

Five people are killed in a freak accident when a lofty rope bridge collapses. The film details a priest's...

Plot Keywords:

Rope Bridge | Remake | Stage Actress | Pulitzer Prize Source | Martyr

Awards:

1 win

Cast

F. Murray Abraham	...	Viceroy of Peru
Kathy Bates	...	The Marquesa
Gabriel Byrne	...	Brother Juniper
Geraldine Chaplin	...	The Abbess
Robert De Niro	...	Archbishop of Peru
Émilie Dequenne	...	Doña Clara
Adriana Domínguez	...	Pepita
Harvey Keitel	...	Uncle Pio
Samuel Le Bihan	...	Dona Clara's Husband
Pilar López de Ayala	...	Camila Villegas (La Perichola)
John Lynch	...	Captain Alvarado
Dominique Pinon	...	His Excellency's Fop
Mark Polish	...	Manuel
Michael Polish	...	Esteban
Jim Sheridan	...	The King of Spain

Also Known As:

El puente de San Luis Rey (Spain)
Le pont du roi Saint-Louis (France)
El puente de San Luis Rey (Argentina) (cable TV title) (Venezuela) [es]
A Ponte de San Luis Rey (Brazil) [pt]
Le pont du roi Saint-Louis (Canada: French title) [fr]
Szent Lajos király hídja (Hungary) [hu]
To mystiko tis gefyras (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, some disturbing images and some sensuality.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Spain | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Hungary:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Málaga, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Tribeca Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Une américaine à Paris (2005) (TV)

Red Chalk and a Bowl of Snow

Greetings again from the darkness. Although I do understand why many grade the film so harshly, for a few reasons I did enjoy it. First, the cast is straight out a Woody Allen Movie. Stars include Robert Deniro, Kathy Bates, F Murray Abraham (all Oscar winners) and Harvey Keitel, Gabriel Byrne and Geraldine Chaplin. Second, relative newcomer Adriana Dominguez is a pleasure to watch as Pepita. Third, the challenge of following the story line and time line kept my brain working non-stop for two plus hours. Although the presentation is a bit convoluted, if a movie keeps me engaged for its entire duration, it has done something right.

The downside, other than the muddled script, was the lackluster performance of Deniro. Most of the time his scenes were straight out of Saturday Night Live - cue cards and all. Bates and Keitel, on the other hand, were mesmerizing.

Based of course on Thornton Wilder's 1929 novel (he also wrote "Our Town" and "Hello, Dolly!"), the film suffers from spotty direction by (relative unknown) Mary McGuckian. Visually the picture is terrific, but she obviously has no feel for story telling.

Flawed film worth seeing for the acting (other than Deniro) and interaction between the characters.