The Bridges of Madison County

Bridges of Madison County is a classic case-example of a movie that's so good -- not because of plot or action. One can argue that the forbidden love/love lost sort of thing has been done over-and-over again, and is therefore sort of trite. But here, the movie is so good because the characters and acting (Eastwood and Streep), the dialogue and script (Richard LaGravenese), and the film direction (Eastwood) come alive, as if you're living in it, in real-time, in real person. Movie is that classic case-example where the characters come alive right in front of you, as if without notice or warning you're an unwitting participant in the story. The dialogue so good, so real; the acting so real to life; the movie's directorial story movement so taut and minimalistic as in how real life happens...that you don't even notice or care even that the movie's actual love-story plot is a "been there, done that" sort of action. Instead, you're swept into the emotion the storyline is designed to trigger: the exhuberance when the protaganists meet and spend time together, the dramatic tension as their relationship deepens and widens where it ought not, then at the end, at climax... See it for the enjoyment, see it for the movie-making case study.

Dvd played perfect!

Such a great movie. Now I can watch it whenever I want.

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.

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

Beautiful love story

Good movie

I should give it a no start. Don't get me wrong this movie wasn't for me it was for my mom and she loves this movie until she saw that it costs money so I purchased it for her now she can't stop watching it for now the hundred times

「マディソン郡の橋」は、原文（英文）でも、翻訳でも読みました。映画も１回見た記憶があります。 年寄りにとっては、超感動の物語です。 今回は、英語の勉強のため、購入しました。 何度でも見直してクリント・イーストウッドのセリフをしゃべれるようになりたいと思います！

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.

Great disc and fast delivery of this absolute belter of a drama film.

Me encantaba esta peli y por fin la tengo. Se ve y se oye perfectamente bien.