Based on Richard Wright's "savage Holiday" in which the writer shies away from the racial problems he depicted in such works as "native son".
"La Passerelle" (the footbridge) links two apartments,both owned by a confirmed bachelor,Jean (Pierre Arditi): the other is occupied by his tenant ,a strip-teaser/dancer,Cora , who raises her child Antoine .One day,after a bath ,he is locked out ;he tries to get into his bathroom through the window,but doing so,the brat sees him stark naked,and ,scared,falls from the footbridge and falls into a coma .
Driven by guilt ,Jean conceals the circumstances of the accident;but Cora says she saw a shadow .The man ,eaten with remorse ,does his best to help Cora with her plight .
Neither the actors (Pierre Arditi is an excellent thespian though) nor their lines can convey the psychological tension ,and halfway through ,the plot fails to interest ;the screenwriters try to enliven things by telling Cora's racy past ,by showing Jean a victim of sexual taboo during his childhood,which is quite derivative for a guy of his generation.They even introduce the character of orphan Jean 's child-minder to no avail ;this nursemaid is played by old actress Jany Holt:after working with such luminaries as Gance,Duvivier,Bresson,Chenal and Lacombe who gave her her best role in "Le Pays Sans Etoiles" ,she would have deserved a happy retirement .
It's possible that the footbridge is symbolic:the boy's accident will bring two lonely people closer together .
