The Bridge (Die Brücke)
Directed by Bernhard Wicke
Written by Michael Mansfield and Karl-Wilhelm Vivier from a novel by Manfred Gregor
1959/West Germany
Fono Film
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] “My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed.” ― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier[/box]
It seems the losers make the most tragic of anti-war films.
It is late April 1945 in a small German town. We are introduced to a class of high-school juniors and watch their romances, rivalries, and domestic strife. The Allies are coming ever closer and they hear a bomb land out near a small local bridge. They excitedly go to investigate.
Rumors are that draft notices will soon reach them and most of the boys are enthusiastic. Adults now believe the war is futile. The father of one of the boys, the local Nazi party leader, has sent his wife out of Dodge and prepares to flee himself.
The draft notices come. Anxious parents are reassured that the war will end before the boys are out of boot camp. But the very next day the decision is made to send all available men to the front, now practically on top of the town. A teacher intervenes and convinces the commander to send the untrained boys to guard the bridge, which has no strategic value and which is scheduled for demolition, rather than into combat. A sympathetic sergeant goes with them. Then everything goes to hell in a hand basket.
This has much of the feel and artistry of All Quiet on the Western Front. The story is doubly tragic because these patriotic and eventually leaderless boys fight on with vigor at a time when their seniors have succumbed to cynicism. The movie is well-acted and looks beautiful in its 2015 Criterion release. Recommended.
The Bridge was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Clip – opening
