Lulu on the Bridge (1999)

The Age of Commercialism

Nice effects though.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Here's a movie that has a Zero Rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It has some tremendously bad acting. The story ends in a way that most viewers seem cheated. Its poorly edited and photographed. But it still worked for me because the idea is so clever that I happily make the leap, completing the movie.Here's the general shape: man is shot and lays dying. He has a vision of girl who he falls in love with, a magical stone causes this. (This is a piece of plaster that falls on him when he is shot.) Its a sweet love story and the magical nature is apt for a movie about an inner movie.But there are two complications that help. One is that our hero is captured and quizzed. Some dreary writing and the roughest parts of the film are associated with this bit. Its the second complication that has a special sparkle. Our girl is an out of work actress who — again magically — gets the starring role as Lulu in a remake of "Pandora's Box." This is perhaps the most sexually charged film of all time: a perfect confluence of actress, svengali filmmaker and the cinematic properties of silent film-making. Its a rather clever fold, yeah? A film about an inner film of love that both references and includes a landmark film. Its being made in Joyce's Dublin by a character played by Vanessa Redgrave.More: our guy is particularly fond of "Singing in the Rain."The fact that the girl in this case is profoundly unsexy and unappealing in most ways deepens the notion for me.It works, if you let it.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

...even if it's mystic. if you always have to find a moral or a message in a movie, you may find this one in here. but this not what makes this movie fantastic. for me this is the quiet tone, the realistic unrealistic (dream)world, the metaphors, the profound humor and the actors. the cast of character is great: Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Gina Gershon, Sophie Auster, Vanessa Redgrave, Willem Dafoe & Lou Reed (as not Lou reed;). exspecially Harvey keitel & Mira Sorvino are 'extraordinary' good. the movie refers to Frank Wedekinds drama 'Die Büchse der Pandora' which the man from Izzy's ex wife wants to film new with the title: lulu on the bridge. as auster names his movie the same way, you can hint that he indirectly refers to that drama to. but you can enjoy the film without knowing the drama. like any other stuff from auster the movie works on more than one level. there's the dream that pretends to be reality - by the way: there's no reality in movies, it's always fiction, even if it pretends to be realistic or/and authentic. auster is playing with this 'knowledge'. so the unrealistic breaks into realty, to show you: hey, this is fiction, enjoy it. besides that the movie of course tells a story about the L word, bittersweet. i don't think that the plot is confusing, in my opinion it is quiet simple, if you learn from auster to watch behind the things and see the obviously hidden.the plot (SPOILER!) - of course simplified:jazz musician Izzy gets shot on a concert. as the result of this he can no longer play his instrument, his career is over. he's hiding in his flat, not answering the phone. so his ex wife, that don't love him anymore, but still cares about him, shows up, to bring him back to life. after spending a evening dinner with her new family, on his way home, he finds a dead man in a back street. he takes the bag that lies beneath the man. there he finds two things, a phone number and a weird stone. in the night the stone is glowing blue (a naughty little beggar who things of austers earlier movies smoke/blue in the face;). next day he calls the number he had found. it belongs to Celia, a fan of Izzy's music. she invites him to her apartment. when he arrives there, Izzy gets very angry & wants an explanation from her about the stone. of course she has none. then they both touch the stone and feeling better after wards (mhm...what the stone might be standing for?). so the story goes, they fall in love. Celia wants to be an actress, but is not very successful yet. she tells him about an upcoming audition she's going to have for a movie: lulu on the bridge (see above). as Izzy knows the producer & the director, he helps her to get the job. Celia leaves to Ireland, where the movie is shot. Izzy wants to sell his flat & then follow her to Ireland. but before that happens, he get caught by some evil looking men, that want the mystique stone (surprise, surprise). they lock Izzy into an empty hall & and a guy named Dr. Van Horn (the names of the characters are awesome chosen) question him about his life (so we learn more about Izzy's past & what a man he has been). the doctor knows more about Izzy than Izzy himself, even things that Izzy pretend to forget (so we see that this is not reality, but a dream). in the meantime Celia is very upset, because she don't know what had happened to Izzy. she things he might not love her any more. then one night she throws the stone into a river (...maybe because a stone is not enough to remember a beloved person...even if it's mystic - the stone & the person). later on the evil men finally found out about Celia & chasing her to the bridge where she has thrown the stone into the river, now she's throwing herself after... not the end.if you think this is a sad story, don't forget, it's just a movie, it never really happened. and if that makes you sad, you may watch a funny movie to cheer you up or better, simply fall in love. or you can search for weird looking stones. and if anybody you like asks you: what's that? you can answer: a blue glowing stone. and if the person then asks: what can it do? you can say: glowing blue of course. and we can touch it & feeling much better after wards......as you may have recognized, I like the movie, so watch it, if you get the chance!

I was hoping the story line would pick up, but scenes were thrown in that didn't make sense, or didn't provide answers. True, no chemistry between Mira Sorvina and Harvey Keitel. I figured having heavyweights like Vanessa Redgrave, Willem Defoe, Gina Gershon, and Mandy Pantikin would add some depth, but their talents were wasted on a very abstract story. Overall, I was very disappointed. I expected more of this movie, because Vanessa Redgrave, Willem Defoe, and Gia Gershon are very good at doing independent and unusual movies. Anytime I see the name Vanessa Redgrave, I figure I'm in for a good movie. But I was let down completely by the story and cast!

I just love this movie. Well parts of it. The entire movie, up until Izzy get's kidnapped, is great. I, believe it or not, did feel the connection between Izzy and Celia. I love Willem Defoe, however it just dragged after that point. I bought the book, have the soundtrack, just love love love it. I especially love the restaurant scene where Izzy loses his temper. Funny.