As a human being amidst billions, it’s easy to walk past one another and not really understand a single person’s life or suffering. It’s even easier to bypass news stories of other’s taking their own lives. So I don’t think it’s a terrible thing to document and dedicate an hour and a half (or so) to a handful of people who were drawn to such a landmark in America, to do the same thing. This is a treasure of a film, a great memorial to those that chose to end their lives, and an even greater resource for us to learn from.

As I watched this documentary about suicide from the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco (USA), humanity dawned on me. Every person in this documentary was for real. I mean, humanity through suicide is a fact, rather than treating it like it’s never supposed to happen: I believe that suicide is one’s own decision, having drained all other options. Somewhat paradoxically, I’m also for preventing suicide, within certain boundaries. This film shows interviews with the survivors, i.e. families and friends of people who have jumped off the bridge. One person who actually survived his jump tells what he experienced. This documentary doesn’t analyse much, but lets people tell their own. The film pulsates gently through these motions, through letting me cry my eyes out and think about life and death in solemnity. The documentary is influenced by the article Jumpers, by Tad Friend.

Very moving documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge … and the people who have tried to kill themselves by jumping from it. Despite being from San Francisco and living here my whole life it just seems so … unreal. Even when you’re watching people climb over the guardrails and taking that last leap, you’re still sitting there watching it as if it’s a work of fiction.