Practically speaking, the design and structure of a covered bridge was to extend the life of the wooden timbers supporting the bridge — keeping them dry and protected from inclement weather.
But today the covered bridge evokes feelings of nostalgia, sentimentality and romance. There is something about these covered sanctuaries that provide the perfect location for covert meetings, stolen kisses or chance encounters for star-crossed lovers.
The latter was the storyline for the romantic movie - The Bridges of Madison County starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Set in 1950’s Iowa and according to the film reviewer Roger Ebbert, “…two people who find the promise of perfect personal happiness, and understand, with sadness and acceptance, that the most important things in life are not always about making yourself happy.”
It’s a melancholy movie that leaves you feeling downhearted and yearning for an alternate ending, where love prevails. I couldn’t stop thinking of this movie while recently travelling through New Brunswick and stopping to photograph the covered bridges.
Like Clint’s character, Robert Kincaid, who was on assignment to photograph the bridges of Madison County, I too was on a similar mission in New Brunswick.
In fact, my adventures could be an adaptation of the original movie - a remake in a different era, an alternate location featuring both new and familiar characters. If a Star is Born has been remade four times over 80 years, why not this movie? After-all, the story about a chance encounter between two strangers in a town with a covered bridge is timeless.
I decided to not only be the star of my movie but also the screenwriter. I have a long way to go on the full script, but for you dear reader, I offer the opening scenes of - The Bridges of New Brunswick.
[Note before proceeding: All bold text is the original script from the movie - The Bridges of Madison County. As for the rest of the story...that stays under cover]
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Our story begins in 2020, on a hot afternoon in August.
FADE IN
EXTERIOR SMALL TOWN NEW BRUNSWICK LANDSCAPE - DAY
Fields of hay bales, marshland, open spaces, croaking frogs. No sign of another car or person in sight. On a long dusty road, we see a sassy looking gal driving a SUV across the screen. In its wake, clouds of dust and gravel follow in its tracks — it’s engine, the only sound we hear.
The SUV slows down and approaches the covered bridge. CLINT watches with suspicious curiosity from behind a hay bale as:
The SUV drives over the bridge slowly, then, shortly after arriving on the other side of the river makes a u-turn and goes back over the bridge. Kicking up dust, like some phantom appearing through the etheric plane. CLINT isn’t even sure that it’s real. He has another mouthful of his coffee & blinks to regain his vision. The SUV slows down and pulls over onto a patch of grass near the covered bridge.
The door opens and LOUISE steps out - she promptly opens the trunk of the SUV, pulling out her camera and tethering it swiftly to her body. Before closing the trunk she grabs her tripod and then flashes her bright brown eyes in his direction, she smiles and says:
LOUISE:
Oh, hello, I haven’t seen another soul in days, I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here.
CLINT: remains guarded.
CLINT:
Did you plan on being here?
LOUISE:
(laughs)
Oh yeah, I’ve been planning to be here for some time.
CLINT:
Well, now you’ve got company.
He laughs and crosses the field towards her.
LOUISE:
Wow, you are the doppelgänger of Clint Eastwood.
CLINT:
No, I’m the real thing, I am Clint Eastwood.
WIDE ANGLE OF THE COVERED BRIDGE
He smiles while her focus moves from his eyes to the Nikon F with a S36 drive slung over his shoulder.
CLINT:
Ever since I directed and starred in the movie, the Bridges of Madison County I’ve been a bit obsessed with photographing these covered bridges. With all the COVID-19 restrictions, movie production is on hiatus so I’ve been travelling the last 4 months across North America.
It’s nice to see a fellow photographer who shares this passion.
LOUISE:
I’m travelling around the world, pursuing my “Personal Legend” that I hope to write as my memoir and perhaps one day it will become a movie.
She tries to focus on the conversation but is distracted by the ever present twinkle in his blue eyes. Really?, could this be happening she thinks to herself?
But her inner dialogue is cut short as CLINT asks if she would be interested in taking her equipment to the ravine and set up next to him where he would be pleased to share some composition options.
FADE OUT to the DIRT ROAD and camera on the two photographers walking in step together down the dirt road and then through the covered bridge to access the ravine.
LOUISE:
So I didn’t notice any other vehicles when I arrived, did you hike here?
CLINT:
I was dropped off a couple of hours ago by my travel companion who went to explore the neighbouring town and pick up a couple of the famous local lobster rolls.
I wish my truck was nearby though as I need a lens cleaner.
LOUISE:
I have lens cleaners in my SUV, if you can hold onto my camera I’ll go get you one.
FADE OUT to LOUISE walks swiftly through the bridge, noticing lovers names scrawled on the inside: CATHY & BUDDY 4 EVER... ROSIE AND HANK TILL THE END OF TIME. Upon getting the lens cleaner she walks back through the bridge and through a crack in one of the wooden planks, LOUISE watches like a voyeur as CLINT works.
He has set up a tripod in the small ravine beneath the bridge, pointing a view finder up as he plans his shots. LOUISE gets to the other side of the bridge and follows suit joining him in the ravine.
DISSOLVE TO:
The view of the bridge goes in and out of focus until we realize we are seeing it through LOUISE’s camera lens.
Once the focus it sets, LOUISE notices something is tacked onto the bridge. She crosses to it hurriedly -- time for the perfect shot is running out -- pulls it down, thumbtack and all, and shoves it into her pocket, unread. She returns to her camera to take her shots.
Absorbed in discussion of F-Stops and ISO levels, LOUISE and CLINT didn’t hear the truck approaching until LOUISE noticies it through her lens.
Fade IN to the Truck, we see a woman waving jovially to CLINT and LOUISE:
WOMAN:
Hey there - hope you’ve had enough time to get your shots, I had a great visit in the town and ready to hit the road if we are to get to Hartland before sunset.
CLINT signals with a thumbs up to his travel companion and starts to collapse the legs of his tripod. He looks over at LOUISE
LOUISE:
Is Meryl Streep your travelling companion?”
CLINT with an impish grin on his face, winks at LOUISE and walks through the bridge. LOUISE watches from the ravine as he loads his equipment into the flatbed of the truck and CLINT gets into the front passenger seat. With a wave from each of the open windows by driver and passenger, the truck kicks up the dirt on the road and leaves behind our earnest photographer in a cloud of dust and disbelief.
Reaching in her pocket for the lens cleaner LOUISE pulls out the paper note that was on the bridge: Hey kid - look me up when you finish your journey, by then I’d be ready for a new script to produce. Like you, I live with dust in my heart. - CLINT