What did the biggest set and The Lovers on the Bridge hit in French film history bring to director Léos Carax?

nightmare project

The director originally created a film with a comedic touch about a homeless street performer and a female art student on the verge of going blind who meet and fall in love on the Pont Neuf Bridge in the middle of Paris. I was trying to make it with a documentary touch, in a short period of time, and on a low budget. We had permission to shoot on the actual Pont Neuf Bridge for 18 days, so we planned to shoot the daytime scenes on location and the night scenes on a set that was simply made with just the silhouette of the bridge.

"The Lovers on the Bridge" (C)1991 STUDIOCANAL-France 2 Cine'ma

However, the lead actor, Denis Lavant, suffered an injury in which he tore the tendon of his thumb while doing some private carpentry work, and filming was halted and postponed. It will no longer be possible to use real filming locations. From there, the gears start to go awry, and in order to continue filming, it becomes necessary to build a huge bridge set in a suburban village, insurance companies and banks get mixed up, and the project grows into a colossal one. The cost of the set keeps increasing and the production company goes bankrupt because they can't pay the production costs. A huge set is destroyed by a storm during a six-month hiatus in filming.

"The Lovers on the Bridge" (C)1991 STUDIOCANAL-France 2 Cine'ma

However, even during the hiatus, when you look at the footage that has already been shot, the content is so appealing that people are drawn to it. He became the third producer, completed the largest set in French film history, and resumed filming. It took three years to finally complete the movie. Additionally, a gigantic set built in a small, unnamed village that recreated the city of Paris, the Seine River, and the Pont Neuf Bridge was left alone. Although the artistic elements have weathered and there are no traces left, the topography that was leveled for the film remains the same. You can still see it on Google Maps .

Location set site Ruins of Pont Neuf Bridge (Photo: Akira Murayama)

Location set site Ruins of stone pavement along the river that resembles the Seine River, and the embankment that resembles the Pont Neuf Bridge in the back (Photo: Akira Murayama)

By the way, the real Pont Neuf Bridge, which spans the Seine River, is a magnificent artery that supports the transportation network of Paris. Right now, at this very moment, it is a normal bridge, with cars and pedestrians passing through it. It's amazing that they even got permission to shoot a movie in the first place. I can't help but sigh that it can't happen in Tokyo.

Carax and Escoffier