The Bridges of Madison County earlier about "the dreams of a woman named Francesca," gave him the idea for the novella, which was completed in eleven days. After he had written "Bridges", Waller came to believe that he had based the character of Francesca Johnson on his wife, Georgia, whom Francesca physically resembles. According to Marc Eliot, Waller's novella is a modernization of the Noël Coward play "Still Life" (1934), which was adapted into David Lean's film "Brief Encounter" (1945). "Still Life" is about 'the desperation, guilt, and temptations of two married people who meet, fall in love, commit adultery, and then separate forever." In
Still Life (2006 film) Still Life (2006 film) Still Life () is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke. Shot in the old village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River which is slowly being destroyed by the building of the Three Gorges Dam, "Still Life" tells the story of two people in search of their spouses. "Still Life" is a co-production between the Shanghai Film Studio and Xstream Pictures. The film premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival and was a winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film. The film premiered at a handful of other film festivals,