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Poster for The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Five lives bound by one fate.

2004 · 2h · PG Drama, Romance
Directed by Mary McGuckian

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Overview

The Bridge of San Luis Rey is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel, first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. It tells the story of several interrelated people who die in the collapse of an Inca rope-fiber suspension bridge in Peru, and the events that lead up to their being on the bridge. A friar who has witnessed the tragic accident then goes about inquiring into the lives of the victims, seeking some sort of cosmic answer to the question of why each had to die.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
4%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Why do good actors pop up in bad movies? More perplexingly, why do so many good actors end up in the same bad movie?

Stephen Garrett, Time Out
Rotten

As a director, McGuckian is overwhelmed by the immensity of her cast, and her misguided attempt to make a Hollywood epic on a European production budget.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Rotten

Best characterized as an honourable folly.

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Rotten

Audiences may wonder why a picture with Robert De Niro, Kathy Bates and Harvey Keitel would be so bereft of hype. After you've endured the film, all 120 airless minutes, you'll understand the rationale behind the quiet release.

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger
Rotten

An honorable but dull attempt to translate a neglected literary source to the screen.

Ben Kenigsberg, Village Voice

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