Los amantes del Puente Nuevo

Los amantes del Puente Nuevo es una película francesa de 1991, dirigida por Leos Carax y con las actuaciones de Juliette Binoche y Denis Lavant. El título se refiere al Puente Nuevo de París. En los Estados Unidos el DVD de la película se distribuyó comercialmente con el título que se le dio en francés en el Reino Unido: The Lovers on the Bridge (Los amantes del puente),^[1] y (por un error en la traducción del título) como Lovers in the Ninth Bridge (Los amantes del puente nueve) en Australia.^[2]

Reseña

Escenificada en los alrededores del Puente Nuevo (en realidad el puente más antiguo de París) en los días en que estuvo cerrado por reparaciones, la película presenta una historia de amor entre dos indigentes: Alex (Denis Lavant) y Michèle (Juliette Binoche). Alex es un artista callejero adicto al alcohol y a los sedantes, y Michèle una pintora que terminó viviendo en las calles debido a una decepción amorosa y a una enfermedad que ha venido minando lentamente su vista. La película retrata la dura existencia de ambos en el puente al lado de Hans, un indigente más viejo que ellos. Conforme su vista se deteriora, Michèle se vuelve cada vez más dependiente de Alex. Cuando surge la posibilidad de un tratamiento, la familia de Michèle trata de localizarla a través de carteles y anuncios en la radio. Con el temor de que lo abandone si recibe el tratamiento, Alex trata de evitar que Michèle se entere de que su familia la busca. Las calles, los cielos y el río Sena, al igual que las celebraciones del Bicentenario de la Revolución Francesa en 1989, sirven de fondo durante la mayor parte de la película.

Producción

To coincide with the French theatrical release in October 1991, France 2 broadcast a documentary film called Enquête sur un film au-dessus de tout soupçon,^[3] directed by Olivier Guiton, which recounts the film's troubled 3 year shoot.

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 previous movie Boy Meets Girl had been a small affair, whereas Mauvais Sang had been considerably larger and more costly, albeit more successful at the boxoffice.

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, in the department of Hérault in southern France. Construction began.

At this time the mayor of Paris gave the authorisation for filming in Paris on the Pont Neuf - between July 28 and August 18. While tying his shoe on set, lead actor 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 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 Cannes festival in 1989 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. The picture was finished on December 22, 1990 and premiered out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival before arriving in French theatres on 17 October 1991.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

• Ficha de Los amantes del Puente Nuevo en inglés y en español en Internet Movie Database.
• Ficha de The Lovers on the Bridge en Rotten Tomatoes (en inglés).