← Back to the films

War drama

The Bridge

Die Brücke

Year
1959
Length
103 minfilmportal.de catalogue presentation Version sources ↓

In the final days of the Second World War, teenage boys are ordered to defend a bridge that the retreating army no longer considers important.

Search for a copy ↓ Before you watch ↓

Amazon.com search · paid link. Check the edition and region before buying.

Language
German
TenseBleak Great first watch · Easy War drama
A pair of worn lace-up boots stands beside crumpled socks on a grey floor.

Image: Monocurator · source · Original Monocurator artwork

What to expect

Wicki strips military heroism down to school friendships, borrowed uniforms, confused orders, and a location whose tactical value disappears before the boys understand the cost. The bridge becomes a lesson imposed with live ammunition.

How to ease in

Learn the boys through their homes before the uniforms make them look alike. Once they reach the bridge, keep asking who still knows the actual military situation and who is acting from inherited language.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes child soldiers, graphic war violence, death, trauma, Nazi ideology, family conflict, and a relentlessly anti-war conclusion.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →
Open the note ↓ Close the note ↑

The bridge matters because the boys have been told that duty must matter. I watch the military abandon the position while the language of honour remains behind to command them.

— Momo

Momo thinking about this film

Credits & versions

Credits
Cast
Folker Bohnet — Hans Scholten · Fritz Wepper — Albert Mutz · Michael Hinz — Walter Forst · Frank Glaubrecht — Jürgen Borchert
Production
Hermann Schwerin · Fono-Film GmbH
Cinematography
Gerd von Bonin

Version map

filmportal.de catalogue presentation 103 min 103 minutes is attached only to the named filmportal.de catalogue presentation. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred. Source: filmportal.de — The Bridge Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-21

Sources for the facts

Where to go next

Want a gentler, shorter, or stranger next film? Ask Momo for something like this →
Momo is on shift. Visit Momo Cinema →

Continue through the catalogue →