The Bridge

Mina is a movie buff with a husband, Georges, who's out of work, and a 15-year-old son, Tommy. While Mina works part-time as a domestic for Claire Daboval, the family is terribly short on money, so when Georges is offered construction work on a massive bridge project, he immediately accepts, even though the job site is far away. One day, while taking in a matinee screening of West Side Story, Mina meets a man named Matthias, an engineer associated with the bridge project. It's love at first sight for the both of them, and while Mina has no desire to hurt Georges, who is a good and decent man, she has found another good and decent man whom she loves even more. Tommy, on the other hand, has to deal with this crisis in his parents' marriage while he's sorting out his own infatuation with Ms. Daboval's daughter, Lisbeth.

Directed by Gérard Depardieu, Frédéric Auburtin, The Bridge leans on a strong ensemble — Carole Bouquet, Gérard Depardieu, Charles Berling — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about romance titles of 1999.