''Les Amants du Pont-Neuf'' () is a 1991 French film directed by

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was '' Boy Meets Girl'' (198 ...

, starring

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

and Denis Lavant. The film follows a love story between two young vagrants: Alex, a would be circus performer addicted to alcohol and sedatives and Michele, a painter with a disease that is slowly turning her blind. The film had 867,197 admissions in France where it was the 34th highest earning film of 1991. The title refers to the

Pont Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC ...

bridge in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The North American title of the film is ''The Lovers on the Bridge'',''The Lovers on the Bridge''
DVDBeaver (illustrates the front covers of the North American Region 1 DVD and the British Region 2 DVD) and, in a mistranslation of the original title, the Australian title is ''Lovers on the Ninth Bridge'' (instead of "Lovers on the New Bridge").

Plot

Set around the

, Paris's oldest bridge, while it was closed for repairs, ''Les Amants du Pont-Neuf'' depicts a love story between two young

vagrants Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tempora ...

Alex ( Denis Lavant) and Michèle (

). Alex is a street performer addicted to alcohol and sedatives and Michèle a painter driven to a life on the streets because of a failed relationship and a disease which is slowly destroying her sight. The film portrays their harsh existence living on the bridge with Hans ( Klaus Michael Grüber), an older vagrant. As her vision deteriorates Michèle becomes increasingly dependent on Alex. When a possible treatment becomes available, Michèle's family use street posters and radio appeals to trace her. Fearing that she will leave him if she receives the treatment, Alex tries to keep Michèle from becoming aware of her family's attempts to find her. The streets, skies and waterways of Paris are used as a backdrop for the story in a series of set-pieces set during the French Bicentennial celebrations in 1989.

Production

Guiton's documentary notes that from the outset Leos Carax wanted to make a simple film, originally talking about doing it with a small team, in black and white and via Super 8. His first movie '' Boy Meets Girl'' had been a small affair, whereas '' Mauvais Sang'' had been considerably larger and more costly, albeit more successful at the box office. From the start, basing a movie on a public bridge in the centre of Paris was complicated. The production team wanted to block off the bridge for 3 months. This was immediately deemed impractical, and the creation of a model was proposed and created by the set designer Michel Vandestein. Initially, the intention was to film the daylight scenes on the actual bridge, and the night time scenes on the simplified model. At this point, the budget of between 8 and 9 million francs had to be adjusted by 5 million. A search for locations across Europe ended up back in France – the town of

Lansargues Lansargues (; oc, Lançargues) is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The following is a list of the 342 communes of the Hérault de ...

, in the department of

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Denis Lavant injured the tendon in his thumb so badly that filming could not be completed in the given time. The insurers were called – Carax was pressured to recast the male lead. However the director insisted that he could not recast or change his approach to the film to allow for Lavant's injury. Immediately, the solution was clear – the Lansargues model was to be extended for daytime use. At this point only a few minutes of footage had been shot. The producers secured a further 9 million francs to develop the set. This extra budget seemed too low given the extent of work required at the Lansargues site. It soon became obvious that more money would be required before shooting could resume. Without this funding the producers were obliged to accept an insurance payment that would settle outstanding debts but not allow any further work. Production was shut down. A frustrated cast and crew took time off to relax and it was not until the 1989 Cannes Film Festival that Dominique Vignier, together with the Swiss millionaire Francis von Buren, agreed to undertake the funding based on the few short rushes filmed a year before. In the documentary Von Buren clearly states that he was deceived about the upcoming costs he would be forced to take on. The number of 30 million francs, given for the total cost of construction and to finish the film, was not nearly enough; the final number from this stage would be closer to 70 million francs. He withdrew his funding late in 1989 with an estimated loss of 10 million francs. Yet again, production stopped. From October 1989 to June 1990 the only person at the site in Lansargues was the guard – and a number of storms followed over that winter causing massive water damage to the uncompleted set. At the Cannes festival in 1990, Christian Fechner allocated 70 million francs in order to finish the film. Unable to find financing partners, he provided his own money, purchasing both rights and debts of the picture. Principal photography was completed on 22 December 1990.

Release

The film premiered out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival before arriving in French theatres on 17 October 1991. The film had 867 197 admissions in France where it was the 34th highest earning film of 1991.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les 1991 films 1991 romantic drama films French romantic drama films 1990s French-language films Films about bridges Films directed by Leos Carax Films set in Paris 1990s French films