A couple more films

I just wanted to share a couple docs I've just watched.

The first is a documentary called The Bridge. It is a film about Suicide, a pretty heavy subject. And to large extent, it's also film about mental illness.

• Film Site
• IMDB Page

The film provocatively approaches the subject by training Cameras on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, for days, weeks and months. Capturing images of people going about there activities on the bridge, and inevitably, capturing images of those who jump off. In one year, 24 people ended their lives by jumping from the bridge, many others were pulled back or talked down by police or passers by intervening. Who knows how many others came to the edge before changing their minds... The film also features an interview with a young man who survived his jump. Oddly (I thought) this was the interview that affected me the most...

The film then follows the stories of the people who ended their lives by jumping off the bridge through the families and friends of these people, who speak about their memories of these people and of their struggles with mental illness (be it depression, bipolar disorder, etc...) that lead to their loved one's suicide.

I found that the film did an excellent job of examining suicide without judgement or pushing an agenda. The victims were portrayed as real people who were tormented by the effects of mental illness, without playing into the stigmas and stereotypes which surround mental illness. There was also no judgement of these people from any religious standpoint or wishy-washy sentiments condoning their final acts.

The film hits a cord for me because of an experience I had while running an errand for work. As I was coming back to the Unity Project east along York street, I came across the aftermath of a suicide attempt below the Adelaide St. overpass of someone I knew through my job, as police and ambulances were pulling up. For months I assumed that this kid was successful in his attempt, until he showed up at my work one day...

Overall, I'd highly recommend this film to anyone who has a desire to further their understanding of Mental Illness and Suicide.

If you're interested in the subject of Mental Illness, I also recommend the film The Interventionist and the PBS Frontline episode The New Asylum.

The other Documentary I wanted to mention is actually a series that has been airing on History Television called The Shining Mountains. It's a four part series focusing on the conflicts between Conservation, Development and Tourism in the Rocky Mountains, taking into account many perspectives. The film also goes into the history of the Rockys (although a bit euro-centric), cultures of the Rocky and how this conservation and development affects them. Really neat stuff.

-30-

Mike.

"We only wear black, but that's just until something darker comes along..."
-Anonymous Black Bloc Member.
-=There is no Cabal, Long live the Cabal=-
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