Goingbegging Once a fortnight on average, someone jumps to their death from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the most popular suicide spot in the western world. In 2004, Eric Steel decided to film the bridge for a solid year, in the hopes of capturing actual footage of people taking the plunge. To get permission from the National Park Service, he pretended he wanted to make a nature film. Well, we could say he succeeded, as the film reveals much about human nature, although we can sympathise with the protests of the NPS at this apparently shabby betrayal.The pre-title sequence, which actually looks not unlike a nature film full of beaches and seagulls, ends dramatically with a middle-aged man suddenly leaping from the bridge, though we don't catch more than about the first second of the four-second descent. For the rest of the film, we are kept wondering whether they ever did manage to shoot an entire jump, to be rewarded right at the end with a startling clip of a young man falling slowly backwards from the bridge and plummeting all the way to the water.Not surprisingly, the film divided critical opinion sharply. It was called everything from 'morally loathsome' to 'brutally honest', and someone even dubbed it an 'aesthetic whirlpool of horror, fascination, beauty, and resignation'. Many objected to the interviewing of the bereaved families before they were notified that their late kinsmen had been filmed in the act. But Steel claims that the families themselves were all in harmony with the project.My own feeling is that it was a cinematic moment that had to come sometime. Suicide is a curious taboo topic, sometimes treated as an obscenity. But this film might be viewed as a healthy airing of the subject. All the familiar themes are here, from pretend-suicide (the cry for help) to survivor-guilt, outright denial ("She must have tripped"), debate about suicide as a mortal sin, and the usual rather unedifying suicide notes. One of the mothers tells her son "You don't have a right to kill yourself while I'm alive." And he doesn't - until after her own death, when he says to a friend "Now I can end it all." And he does. There is also an interesting slant on the sheer notoriety of the location, 'a false romantic promise' that your death-leap will place you among the legendary figures of America. One reason why Scott kept his project secret is that he didn't want to attract attention-seekers trying to get their suicides immortalised, though one later jump was actually blamed on the film. On the other hand, the publicity caused the authorities to install a safety net, which may reduce both the casualty-count and the notoriety. The main, glaring fault is the overlapping of the stories, so that we often don't know which case (out of 24) is being discussed. Towards the end, there is an overlong and over-indulgent lament from one girl about some male victim, with no name to keep us in the loop - or not that I heard.Finally, against the odds, one of the 24 actually lived to tell the tale, apparently saved by a seal that buoyed-up his body at the crucial moment. He remains convinced that this was a biblical miracle in the full sense, and has been devoutly religious ever since.

aetinkerbell You can sit and question the morals of this film forever and never come to an answer. You can sit and think to yourself, hey, why is someone filming this and not saving this person's life? You can sit and scream stop. What are you doing?? But the fact remains that if someone has reached the point where it seems that death is a beautiful and peaceful solution; then you can save them all you want but they'll always find a solution.As I watched this documentary, it was like time stopped around me and I entered a trance. Witnessing death is a feeling that words cannot explain. This film has made me experience feelings that I have never felt in my life. Hearing the stories of their loved ones, and the witnesses makes you feel like you know these people which makes it harrowing as you watch them fall with such elegance and grace.I was particularly touched by the death of Gene Sprague for a reason I do not know. His death is so majestic and peaceful that it brought me to tears.This film is brilliant, and if you think you're having a hard time then watch this and get some perspective. It's beautifully filmed and for the first time in my life, I completely zoned out in this film as if time froze which gives it my 10 stars.

C.H Newell As someone who suffers from fairly major depression and anxiety, I'm always pleased to see a movie that treats mental illness with the right mind and respect. Some may think filming these people before and while they jump off the Golden Gate Bridge is disrespectful, but I don't- they jumped from the bridge for many reasons, one of them, certainly not the least of which, is to be noticed. This film helps preserve their life.I found the candid and openly honest answers from the family and friends of those who are the focus of the film refreshing. Most people are closed off, they want to think this doesn't exist, it didn't happen, just forget about it. These families, their friends, they all understood their loved ones' illnesses (as well as they could anyways), and they understood the pain associated with severe depression, schizophrenia (et cetera); it is a monumental pain, something only those who experience it/those around them can truly understand. It affects everyone and everything within arms reach. It is devastating. On the other hand, it's also terribly upsetting to know the families understood yet were helpless to truly do anything for their loved ones; like the torture of the damned. It's amazing everyone who shared their stories were willing to do so.This is a brave piece of filmmaking. It also serves a purpose. Though the filmmakers, nor anyone else features, make the case, there really needs to be some sort of barrier protecting those who cannot protect themselves from the depths of mental illness and utter despair. To think, so many people jump from the bridge every year, year after year, and yet the government hasn't done anything. I know a lot of Americans I'm sure would complain about tax dollars being wasted on people who are clearly determined to end their own lives, but where does our humanity end? I think by showing these people, before and while they jump, is very effective. It's going to cause people to reevaluate what suicide is, what it means, how desperate people who take their lives must be, and the remarkable amount of determination suicide requires on the part of those who feel it constantly creeping in their minds. I applaud the filmmakers.It took a long time for me to watch this. I was worried it would hit me very hard, as I've had many bad experiences over the years relating to my own mental illness. I'm happy I finally watched it. I have a friend who committed suicide almost 4 years ago now, and I understand how it is to lose someone- just like I understand how it feels to want to take my own life. This film opened even my eyes to certain things. I hope, someday, the Golden Gate Bridge will be retrofitted with some sort of In closing, the finale of the film really did a number on me. Having watched Gene Sprague and heard people talk about him throughout the whole film, it was shocking to see his incredibly dramatic leap from over the bridge's railing. My jaw actually dropped. As the camera followed him, I couldn't believe it. I sat wide-eyed through the credits until the film went right to the very end. Incredibly gripping piece of work. An absolute 10 out of 10. We need more documentary filmmaking like this to help expand the minds and opinions of the general public on the uneasy subject of mental illness in general. Highly recommended.

billcr12 The Golden Gate Bridge was on camera for one year to capture the frequent jumpers who commit suicide on a regular basis. Eric Steel interviewed friends and relatives of many of them without mentioning that he has them on film. On average, someone jumped every fifteen days. The first guy was jogging, talking on a cell phone and laughing, when he leaped to his death. The film crew rescued several of the intending to end their lives. One survivor, Kevin Hines, changed his mind on his way down towards the water, and pointed his legs vertical, and lived, but suffered spinal injuries. He claims to have been brought to the surface by a seal, and attributes this to divine intervention, and he has become a religious fanatic.Twenty three suicides were filmed during the course of the movie, and the follow up stories are sad and interesting. The Bridge is worth watching.