Claim: The Bridges of Madison County is a media production.

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller . It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions , and distributed by Warner Bros. . Entertainment . The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer and the screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese . The film is about an Italian war bride , Francesca -LRB- Meryl Streep -RRB- , who lives with her husband and two children on a farm in Iowa . In 1965 , she meets a National Geographic photographer named Robert -LRB- Eastwood -RRB- and has a four-day extramarital affair with him that changes both their lives forever . The film earned $ 182 million worldwide and was well received by critics . Streep received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination in 1996 for her performance in the film .