The Joy of Life (2005)

Directed by

Jenni Olson

Genre

LGBTQ-related film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 05m

Rating

4.9 of 10 from 8 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This experimental documentary weaves two stories set in San Francisco. One part tells about the history of suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge. The other follows a butch lesbian searching for love and self-discovery in the city.

contemplativemelancholiclyricalexperimentalquietpoeticintrospectivetender

What happens

The Joy of Life is a 2005 experimental landscape documentary film by filmmaker Jenni Olson about the history of suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge, and the adventures of a butch lesbian in San Francisco, California. Following its January 2005 premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the film played a pivotal role in renewing debate about the need for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge and garnered praise and awards for its unique filmmaking style. The film combines 16mm landscape cinematography with a lyrical voiceover (performed by LA-based artist/actor Harry Dodge) to share two San Francisco stories: the history of the Golden Gate Bridge as a suicide landmark, and the story of a lesbian in San Francisco searching for love and self-discovery. The two stories are punctuated by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's reading of his ode to San Francisco, "The Changing Light", and bookended by opening and closing credits music from legendary 1950s icon (and probable Golden Gate suicide) Weldon Kees. The film is dedicated to the memory of Mark Finch, who died by suicide by jumping from the bridge in January 1995. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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