The older film relied on atmosphere and emotional insights rather than a tightly-written narrative to spin a yarn about a woman unable to decide between the two men she loves. The audience cannot accurately guess what the enigmatic Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) will do.

   Some 37 years later, the sophomore effort from one of France's most beloved actors--co-directed with Frederic Auburtin--never leaves much doubt about which fellow the lovely Mina (Carole Bouquet) will choose. Her husband Georges (Depardieu) is an earnest, hard-working, unexciting bloke. Her lover Matthias (a poker-faced Charles Berling) has pizzazz but is sensitive enough to cry as often as she does at movies like “Jules and Jim,” which Mina has seen many times.

   If Georges and Mina didn't have 15-year-old Tommy (Stanislas Crevillen) to consider, the marriage might have come apart much sooner. It's so very French that the boy's (rather selfish) mother draws him in as her co-conspirator when Tommy discovers she's having an affair. It's also thoroughly Gallic for Georges to keep his cool while confronting Matthias. In an equivalent American film, the cuckolded husband would very likely become unhinged and buy an Uzi.

   Tommy, meanwhile, is engaged a small subplot of his own. He and a neighbor's disaffected daughter (Melanie Laurent) plan to escape their respective suffocating family dysfunctions.

   The moral of “The Bridge,” which takes place in a small Normandy town at a time when men wanted their wives to stay home, is best symbolized by a sad shrug. A shrug might also suffice for an audience's response to this bittersweet little tale, well-crafted but incapable of surprises.    Starring Gerard Depardieu, Carole Bouquet, Charles Berling, Stanislas Crevillen, Melanie Laurent and Dominique Reymond. Directed by Gerard Depardieu and Frederic Auburtin. Written by Francois Dupeyron. Produced by Gerard Depardieu. A Phaedra release. Drama. French-language; subtitled. Not yet rated. Running time: 89 min.