Good idea lost in the noise

Charming and brutal

Am I Missing Something?

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Between 2007 and 2012 were committed 79 suicides by hanging in Bridgend County, a coal mining province in Wales, and mostly among teenagers. Based on this tragic true story, the film Bridgend, directed by Danish rookie Jeppe Rønde who until then only made documentaries, is a fictionalized version of the case. The story revolves around the protagonist Sara (played by Hannah Murray, known for the character Gilly, of Game of Thrones), a young woman who moves to a small town in Bridgend County due to her father's job relocation, the police officer Dave (played by Steven Waddington; he starred in the movie Imitation Game - 2014). Being a new girl in town Sara does not have any friends and her favorite hobby is riding her horse, Snowy. But gradually she gets drawn into a group of mysterious teenagers who appear to be connected to the wave of suicides, which causes concern of her father, who investigates the deaths.To make this movie the director Rønde spent six years researching, interviewing and accompanying the teenagers who lived in the area and wrote the script based on their stories. There are theories about the deaths, but local authorities still do not know what motivated the suicides in which the film was based. Another detail is that the motion picture was filmed in the very Bridgend County.The film portrays the reckless life of teenagers and uses the clichés that are already well known in adolescence representations: parties ruled by alcohol, cigarette, riots and dips in the lake, in a quest for freedom, to experience feelings without worrying about the consequences of your own acts. The intergenerational conflict is another point addressed and is showed by the gap between parents and children, who can not interact or communicate with each other.With a gloomy and gray, grim and melancholic atmosphere, Magnus Nordenhof Jonck's photography (known for his work in Kapringen - A Hijacking - 2012 and Krigen - A War - 2015) creates a claustrophobic tone that makes you feel as if something terrible could happen at any time. Part of this constant tension effect is also built by Mondkopf's soundtrack, which uses the electronic sound to keep the suffocating tone in the movie. Bridgend quite remember the movie The Witch (2015) for the setting yearned in each frame.Despite having an efficient cast the film could have developed the characters more. Another weak point was the way the script was written. The story does not follow a specific line and ends up being confused and not promoting the necessary understanding. The narrative focuses only on the lives of adolescents, leaving aside important parts as the parents viewpoint, the investigative work of the police and how the suicides affect the local community. Rønde was bold in its proposal to portray a difficult subject in an abstract way and ended up delivering a smaller film than it could be. Especially for the setting and the visual quality that are top- notch. Perhaps part of the answers that were left unclear can be found in the documentary Bridgend (2013).Originally posted in: https://vikingbyheart.blogspot.com.br

I'm not sure why this movie has such a high rating. It attempts to be "artsy" but just ends up being awkward and confusing. The movie basically just consists of a group of punk degenerates partying, drinking excessively, committing crimes, and doing bizarre things. Oh and there's some suicides. Random shots thrown in that have nothing to do with the story. The plot makes no sense. There's a few suggestions as to why these kids are committing suicide like cult-like activity, parent blaming, and mental illness (or supernatural depending on your view) but nothing is ever really explained or shown. It's purposefully vague, I get that, but what's the point of the film other than to show that continuous suicides are scary? There is a detective but he is pretty pointless since he never actually really does anything of use.The biggest problem with this movie is that it's supposedly based on true events but it does no justice to those events. The only truth is the fact of how many suicides there were which is written in text. The real story didn't involve a cult or even an exclusive group of friends. At most one of the teens who committed suicide knew like 3 others that did. Most knew one other person and it was a sort of chain that passed through not only bridgend but the entire County, so not exclusively bridgend. But the worst part is the portrayal that these kids were all degenerates who partied constantly and had no individuality. It is a disservice to show them in the way they did. The actual people were normal every day people. Some were happy with future aspirations for college and careers who made people laugh and contributed to society. Others did drink and have issues with the law. But the point is that they were individuals and not in any way like they were portrayed. On top of that it is insinuated that the parents of the kids are abusive or neglectful. The real parents that have given public interviews are clearly shown to be loving parents that were close with their children. I just can't imagine why a filmmaker would make the decision to portray victims of a real tragedy in such a negative and untrue way. It's completely disrespectful. If they wanted to create such a fictional story then they should have just called it something else and not used the notoriety of this tragedy just to profit from it. There is really no truth to this interpretation other than that there are suicides in a place called Bridgend. There is also no hope given in the movie at all. And what I mean is that many hoped this film would shed light on the issue of suicide and help the crisis. All this film does is make it look like it's inevitable, people are committing suicide and there's nothing anyone can do. How is that helping the cause? There is a documentary also called Bridgend that is much more enlightening and interesting. It brings to light real issues in the community like poor mental health services that could be fixed and prevent suicides instead of what this film shows: that it's a crazy cult-like group and there's nothing they can do in their depressing town but kill themselves.

the movie analyzed the state of suicidal from all the different angles of the situation, Sara and the others are just hungry for life which the authority and the church are always and forever putting some limits in that town. the question that always being in front of your eyes is "Why?" and you just begin to ask "Why not!!!", it is not like you turned to be suicidal but somehow a person with a deep place in their side, we can be with Sara and her limits and her Jaimee! all of the movie aspects are just amazing, from the screenplay till the sound and visual effects. after the movie is done and you are in your way out of the cinema, you are just thinking in their situations, the day mare you had is just like that "all the things are justified enough to be in that way, they are here, actual youth who are in a continual search for their identity, just the forest of life had been waiting for them, so what is wrong with the actual world to be like that, and the problem is; it is like that!" that group of young people is not suicidal, but it is normal from outside, the effect of this is just you can take all of the youth as suicidal, or just thinking of this demon apparent from the life, and the love and the family. the problem comes to a new dimension with the family, their apart views and tight facts and limits upon us, the youth, and we will go fire the place, make the lights to conquer the view and let the spouses take their bedtime at ease! as an end, the movie is just awesome and i would recommend it to any and every young person on this planet.

Between the years of 2007 and 2012, 79 suicides have been reported in Bridgend County Borough in Wales. This horrible real life even is the source for the story of "Bridgend". Media has been part of the blame for many of the suicide, for bringing them to attention in the wrong way. Apparently "Bridgend" has been banned in the county, but I don't know if these are rumors. It's understandable if a lot of people find that a movie like this is distasteful, and perhaps made too soon. I am not here to judge the production of the movie, but I will be giving my two cents about the movie itself below.From what I can gather, the story of "Bridgend" is not too far detached from the reality. It's set in Bridgend County, where many mysterious suicides among young have taken place. We follow a young woman who moves to Bridgend with her father. He's a cop and is quickly getting familiarized with the horrific situation that the town finds itself in. Sara is a shy and quiet girl, but somehow she gets drawn into the gang of youngsters that are directly associated with the kids that have been committing suicides.One thing that is striking about reality and the movie, is that the reasons behind the suicides are unknown. The movie portrays a small town with kids that have nothing to do - so they enjoy themselves with alcohol, vandalism, and hanging out with each other. Now and then, they are one person short as a suicide has taken place. It can be speculated upon that there's a cult mentality behind everything, and that seems to be the most believable reason. The exact why's are not ventured into at depth, but with the style of the movie that makes it all the more powerful.Somewhere between a profound art-house film and a social drama, "Bridgend" can jump from being realistically bleak to visually stunning in just seconds. It's not that the movie is in any way trying to bend reality like, say, Lars von Trier. Rather, it gives us a moment to breathe and let us gather our thoughts. After all, the movie does not romanticize the situation it is based on. It's sad movie about something that is hard to accept, and we feel completely helpless (as we are). I can still understand those that see "Bridgend" as further glamorization of the events, but the heart and soul of the movie seems to be to show us the horrible realities that many of us are unaware of.This is not a movie to watch if you want something light-hearted. There are no moments of relief here. If you expect a movie that will make you dream about the freedoms of teenagers, then you are on the wrong end of the spectrum. The movie takes you on a dark journey into a group of people who seem destined to commit suicide. That's the reality and that's the truth of what this is. The movie leaves you alone with your thoughts. Is it a good movie? Absolutely. I think many of you will understand this movie and will gather from it exactly what the filmmakers hoped for.