The Lovers on the Bridge

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The Lovers on the Bridge

R

1991

2h 5m

Romance

Drama

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Popcornmeter

86%

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21 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A homeless addict (Denis Lavant) and a young painter (Juliette Binoche) with failing eyesight forge a bond on the streets of Paris.

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Critics Consensus

Brash and big-hearted, The Lovers on the Bridge can sweep away most viewers with its mad romanticism.

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Anthony Lane

Independent (UK)

Jan 3, 2018

Think of it as cinema living rough, scruffy patches of tedium broken by bursts of lunatic freedom.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3/4

A film both glorious and goofy, inspiring affection and exasperation in nearly equal measure.

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Ray Pride

Newcity

Oct 11, 2025

8/10

Carax’s reputation was fully established as a willfully mad maker of ravaged canvases of the heart... damp-dark romantic efflorescence... l’amour fou expressed through the built environment and the fireworks of the heart.

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Peter Sobczynski

Auteurist Class (Substack)

Oct 10, 2025

As crazy-pants, eye-popping and swoon-worthy as it was when it first came out, The Lovers on the Bridge is a work of such grand beauty and ambition that I find myself actually pitying those who have never found themselves sharing its glorious wavelength.

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Peter Terzian

Out Magazine

May 27, 2022

Lovers will undoubtedly turn off as many viewers as it seduces -- but this long-unreleased masterpiece, shot between 1989 and 1991, will leave true cinephiles nothing short of delirious.

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Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

Mar 30, 2017

... a lush cinematic painting of love, passion, and madness expressed in a romantic surrealist style and images charges with color and magic.

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Oleksii S

@lovecircle13 Sep 4, 2026

Director had my heart in his hands the whole fucking time. Masterpiece!!!

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Aug 7, 2025

Success in 2 hours and 5 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $38,500.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Nov 26, 2021

Actually a french film titled Les Amants du Pont Neuf.

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Jan 23, 2020

Amazing!!!! So original, so artistic and so poetic but encaging with an amazing story that keeps the films moving along at a good pace. Love it so much I bought to have in my collection just to show off :)

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Mar 20, 2019

this movie is 20 years old yet it doesn't looks like an old movie, kudos to the cinematographer because he did a superb job on this movie

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Aug 22, 2017

My second Leos Carax film. "Holy Motors" is one of my favorites, but I found this one pretty good too, even with a pretty different approach. Some drunk, Alex, is living on a bridge in Paris. He is scoring drugs from another man on the same bridge. He drinks and is generally up to nothing. Then Michèle comes along. She is a painter with a fainting eyesight. She has given up hope so she joins Alex and lives with him. Their relationship is special but complicated. Not as filled with drugs and alcohol as you might think, but they are not up for much. Some great subplots and twists makes it interesting and some fantastic scenes makes it pretty and something else. The photography is splendid and the story is lovely put together and it develops constantly into somethiing greater and more complex. Denis Lavant as Alex is truly amazing. His skills is great and he is a true chameleon on screen. Juliette Binoche is also a great star here and their chemestry is fittingly weird but deep. A film that will be remembered as a whole after some time of sinking in. A different lovestory that needs some digestion. 7.5 out of 10 fireworks.

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Leos Carax

Director

Juliette Binoche

Michèle Stalens

Denis Lavant

Alex

Klaus-Michael Gruber

Hans

Marion Stalens

Marion

Chrichan Larsson

Julien

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Synopsis

A homeless addict (Denis Lavant) and a young painter (Juliette Binoche) with failing eyesight forge a bond on the streets of Paris.

Director: Leos Carax
Producer: Christian Fechner
Screenwriter: Leos Carax
Distributor: Miramax
Production Co: Films A2, Films Christian Fechner [fr], Gaumont International
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 1991, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 8, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $38.5K
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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