The Bridges of Madison County
Clint Eastwood
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer and the screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese. The film stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep; Streep received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination in 1996 for her performance in the film.
The plot of the film is as follows: In the present, siblings Michael and Carolyn arrive at the Iowa farmhouse of Francesca Johnson, their recently-deceased mother, to see about the settlement of their mother's estate. As they go through the contents of her safe deposit box and the will, they are baffled to discover that their mother left very specific instructions that her body be cremated and her ashes thrown off the nearby Roseman Covered Bridge, which is not in accordance with the burial arrangements they had known from their parents. Michael initially refuses to comply, while Carolyn discovers a set of photos of her mother and a letter. She manages to convince Michael to set aside his initial reaction so they can read the documents she has discovered. Once alone, they go through a series of letters from a man named Robert Kincaid addressed to their mother, revealing that he had an affair with her in 1965. The siblings find their way to a chest where their mother left a letter, a series of diaries and other mementos.
They discover their mother, an Italian war bride, had had a four-day affair with Robert Kincaid, a photographer who has come to Madison County, Iowa to shoot a photographic essay for National Geographic on the covered bridges in the area.[4] The affair took place while her husband and children were away at the Illinois State Fair. The story in the diaries also reveals the impact the affair had on Francesca and Robert’s lives, since they almost elope but she stops at the last minute in consideration of a bigger picture that includes the consequences on the lives of her children and husband while he finds meaning and his true call as an artist. The story has also deep consequences on the lives of Michael and Carolyn, who are each also facing marital issues, but their mother’s story helps them to find a sense of direction in their lives. At the end the Johnson siblings agree to their mother’s request.
I really liked this film