The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Bridges of Madison County
Drama · Romance · 1995
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Movie details
The Bridges of Madison County
“A love like this happens to some of us sooner or later. For Robert and Francesca, it was later.”
1995 Drama · Romance 2h 15m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.7 / 10
Community rating
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Bridges of Madison County?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Love at First Sight
Romance · 2023
Hadley and Oliver begin falling in love on a flight from New York to London, but when they lose each other at customs, can they defy all odds to reunite?
The Choice
Drama · 2016
Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
One Day
Drama · 2011
After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.
Tess
Drama · 1979
A strong-willed peasant girl is sent by her father to the estate of some local aristocrats to capitalize on a rumour that their families are from the same line. This fateful visit commences an epic narrative of sex, class, betrayal, and revenge.
A Place in the Sun
Drama · 1951
A young social climber wins the heart of a beautiful heiress but his former girlfriend's pregnancy stands in the way of his ambition.
It Ends with Us
Drama · 2024
When a woman's first love suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with a charming, but abusive neurosurgeon is upended, and she realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.
Out of Africa
History · 1985
Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.
Women in Love
Drama · 1969
Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a wealthy playboy and a philosophical educator, with cataclysmic results for all four.
The Notebook
Romance · 2004
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.
The Sleeping Dictionary
Drama · 2003
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Clint Eastwood
Written by
Richard LaGravenese
Meryl Streep
Francesca Johnson
Clint Eastwood
Robert Kincaid
Annie Corley
Caroline Johnson
Victor Slezak
Michael Johnson
Jim Haynie
Richard Johnson
Sarah Zahn
Young Carolyn
C
Christopher Kroon
Young Michael
Court is in session
Put The Bridges of Madison County on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.