Viewed "The
Bridge" (by Eric Steel) last night at, coincidentally enough, The Bridge
Theater in the Richmond District of San Francisco. It's about jumpers of the
Golden Gate span--the filmmakers set up a cameras at the Bridge and filmed the
year of 2004--this was not warmly received by the Bridge District.
I was
surprised to see a friend featured in the film. He was from Skokie, where my
beloved is from, and made fantastic, Chicago-style pizza, and had owned
several restaurants in San Francisco. I talked to a guy who knew Ruby, too,
another pizzeria owner. He said the coke got to Ruby. A friend interviewed in
the film wondered about the anti-depressants she gave him. She sobbed. It was
moving. This film hit hard, no, it slammed!
Kevin Hines
was one who jumped, and survived.
The way he told the experience was
fascinating. The fall damaged his vertebrae in his back, and while he
was waiting to be rescued, he felt something nudge his leg.
He thought:
Great, I survive the fall from the Bridge, only to be eaten by a shark. It was
a seal, circling about his body as if to protect him.
He said he
took this as a symbol of God answering his self-stated desire on the way down
that he didn't want to die.
The movie was
very telling about the effect of drugs, and the set that friends, family and
doctors suggestively assert to the mentally ill. A wonderful film. I would
'jump' at the opportunity to see it.
Visit
trailer
.
