Throughout the country, as the credits roll, sobbing can be heard throughout the theater--and not just the high-pitched, obligatory, "Why did he just leave like that?" cry.

Emotions about discovering love in all different ways--in a partner, in a family, in a town, and in a landscape--are stirred in both men and women as each layer of understanding is uncovered scene by scene.

Eastwood and Streep, both already being named as sure contenders at next year's Academy Wards, have taken the task of adapting Robert James Waller's beautiful, simple, and two-year bestselling novel to screen with great style.

Certainly, they have added their own touches along the way--Waller's Francesca had a "hint" of an Italian accent, which Streep expanded to create an exaggerated, yet truly convincing, Italian voice for Francesca. Eastwood, who is also the director, is not precisely the long-haired hippie that waller describes, but is nonetheless perfect as the "last cowboy" with a profound wanderlust.

The feelings that these characters created together have been likened to a modern-day "Casablanca," in which love can be awakened in midlife, while at the same time, an overwhelming sense of responsibility may prevent it from flourishing. Still, "Bridges " leaves the audience with a touching optimism--that while they may be fleeting, moments of perfect passion are indeed possible at any age.

While the film has been shunned by most teenageers, it has nonetheless become a quiet success, drawing huge older audiences.

But it is just as full of lessons for the younger moviegoer; the conflict between opportunities for self-fulfillment and loyalty to others is prominent in any age, as is the hope for love which is able to satisfy both.

Perhaps more importantly, in this age of animated super heroes coming to life on the screen and Disney reduction of history and fantasy into marketable musical numbers, Bridges offers the hope of becoming a classic for our generation. Realism in the movies is all too rare, sacrificed for sugar-coated happy endings.

While movies in the genre of "Casablanca" and "Bridges" have the mystique of fantasy world of long ago, they actually provide a story laced with both hope and duty, and show the delicate balance between the two.